CS494/594 -- Presentation Information

James S. Plank

You may give one of two types of presentations:

• A topcoder problem that I assign you. D1-250/D2-500 for 494, D1-500/D2-1000 for 594.
• An algorithm that we don't cover in class (or in previous classes).

Requirements

• You must send me your slides for review at least 24 hours before class. If I suggest changes, you must make those changes or you will be deducted. If you don't send me your slides, you will lose 5 of the 20 points.

• If you are enrolled in COSC 494, then your presentation shoue be between 5 and 10 minutes long. If you are enrolled in COSC 594, then your presentation should be between 7 and 15 minutes. You will be deducted if you go drastically over or under.

• Assume that your audience has taken CS302. You don't need to explain Depth-First Search, Dijkstra's algorithm or Dynamic Programming.

• You need a title slide with your name, affiliation, name of your talk, date. This slide should also be the last slide of your presentation.

• You need to state the problem, using examples and pictures, so that your audience has an intuitive understanding of the problem.

• You need a slide with prototypes and variables (like mine).

• You need a slide with the constraints. This can be merged with the previous slide if everything fits cleanly. Otherwise, separate them.

• You need to present a solution. Try to make the solution intuitive, so that your audience understands it. Walk through examples. Sometimes it is helpful to present a solution that doesn't work, but helps you to present the solution that does work.

• Sometimes, it's nice to present multiple solutions (like I did with the Christmas Tree problem).

• I will send you an email that has hints, and often an algorithm or solution. If my email has a solution or algorithm, you must present my solution as one of the solutions. It doesn't have to be the "main" one, but you have to present it.

• You need to present the running time, where you describe the big-O performance of your solution(s).

• You need a performance slide where you detail performance on a machine, and show how the performance scales with input. If you have multiple implementations, compare them. You should specify the machine and its speed. This slide must have a graph, and the graph should be very clear. You don't want to end up on the wall of shame.

• (Optional, but always interesting): Can you solve this in other, perhaps faster ways? Or can it be solved by other algorithms that we know about?

• How did the topcoders do? If fewer than 60% of them got it, it was a hard problem.

• I have to approve the algorithm. If you want me to give you some suggestions, I can do so.

• You need to present the problem that the algorithm is solving. It helps if you can give concrete, real-world examples of where the algorithm is useful.

• You need to present the algorithm clearly, working through at least one, and maybe two or three motivating examples. With pictures!

• You need to present the running time in big-O, and if that needs to be explained more clearly (e.g. it's hard to know what the big-O is really measuring), then do so.

• You need to program the algorithm and do a performance evaluation. In other words, you need a nice performance graph like in the Topcoder example above.

• Suggestions for algorithms (if there's no link, just use wikipedia): Bayesian Optimization, Skip Lists and/or Splay Trees, Reinforcement Learning (this would have to be at a high level), Algorithm Games, Line Sweep Algorithms, Red-Black Trees, Binary Indexed Trees, Range Minimum Query and Lowest Common Ancestor, Biconnected Components, Tries, Assignment Problem, Hungarian Algorithm, Prime numbers, factorization, etc Line intersection and its applications. Zero Knowledge Proofs, LZ77 Compression, Aho Corasick Algorithm, Algorithm X, AONT-RS: Blending Security and Performance in Dispersed Storage Systems, Algorithm for performing convolutions in spiking neural networka, AES, K means clustering, Shank's babystep-giantstep algorithm, Paxos.

Suggestions

You cannot lift graphics, either from my hints or from any other source. Do your own graphics and customize them for your talk.

If you want to talk things over, schedule a time to talk with me.

Repeat after me: "Pictures are better than text." "Pictures are better than text." "Pictures are better than text."