COSC 494/594

Unconventional Computation

Fall 2012

Instructor:

Bruce MacLennan, PhD
Phone: 974-0994
Office: Min Kao 550
Office Hours: MW 1:30–2:30, or make an appointment
Email: maclennan AT eecs.utk.edu

Classes: 10:10–11:00 MWF, MK 406

Directory of Handouts, Labs, etc.

This page: http://web.eecs.utk.edu/~mclennan/Classes/494-UC
or http://web.eecs.utk.edu/~mclennan/Classes/594-UC

Information

Description

Unconventional computation (or non-standard computation) refers to the use of non-traditional technologies and computing paradigms. As we approach the limits of Moore’s Law, progress in computation will depend on going beyond binary electronics and on exploring new paradigms and technologies for information processing and control. This new course surveys some potential approaches to post-Moore’s Law computing.

Potential topics include quantum computation and quantum annealing; optical computing; analog computing; DNA, RNA, peptide, and general molecular computation; chemical computing; reaction-diffusion systems; liquid-state machines; amorphous computing; membrane computing and P systems; single organic molecule computing; computational mechanics; collision-based computing; reversible computing; spatial computation; cellular automata; cellular neural nets; neurocomputers; organic computation; natural computation; physarum computers; emergent computation; hypercomputation; non-Turing computation.

Prerequisites

I intend this course to be accessible to all upper-division undergraduate and graduate students in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, mathematics, physics, and similar disciplines. However, students will be expected to be familiar with linear algebra. If you have any questions about whether you should take it, please email me. Students taking the course for graduate credit (COSC 594) will be expected to do specified additional work, including an in-class presentation.

Grading

There will be a mixture of homework, simulation experiments, and a term paper. Graduate students will be expected to do an in-class presentation.

Text

None.

Student Learning Outcomes

Click here for pdf. 

Evolving List of Topics

Since this is the first time this course has been taught, the list of topics is tentative.

  1. Introduction
    lecture notes I [pdf], slides [pdf 6/page, pdf 2/page]
    1. Post-Moore’s law computing
    2. Embodied computing
    3. Super-Turing vs. non-Turing computation
  2. Physical information processing
    1. Reversible computation: lecture notes II.A 
    2. Conservative logic: lecture notes II.B
    3. Thermodynamics of computation: lecture notes II.C 
  3. Quantum computation
    1. Mathematical preliminaries: complex number review [FFC-ch4], lecture notes III.A
    2. Basic concepts from quantum theory
      1. Postulates of QM: lecture notes III.B.1 
      2. Wave-particle duality: lecture notes III.B.2
      3. Uncertainty principle: lecture notes III.B.3 
      4. Superposition: lecture notes III.B.4 
      5. Entanglement: lecture notes III.B.5 
      6. Dynamics
      7. No-cloning theorem
      8. EPR paradox: lecture notes III.B.6–8 
    3. Quantum information
      1. Qubits & secure key distribution: lecture notes III.C.1 
      2. Quantum gates: lecture notes III.C.2 
      3. Quantum circuits
      4. Quantum gate arrays: lecture notes III.C.3-4 
      5. Quantum parallelism: lecture notes III.C.5 
      6. Applications: Superdense coding and quantum teleportation: lecture notes III.C.6 
      7. Universal quantum gates: lecture notes III.C.7 
    4. Quantum algorithms
      1. Deutsch-Jozsa: lecture notes III.D.1 
      2. Simon: lecture notes III.D.2 
      3. Shor: lecture notes III.D.3 
      4. Grover & heuristic search: lecture notes III.D.4
      5. Quantum error correction: lecture notes III.D.5 
    5. Universal quantum computers: lecture notes III.E 
      1. Feynman
      2. Benioff
      3. Deutsch
    6. Abrams-Lloyd theorem: lecture notes III.F 
    7. Physical realizations: lecture notes III.G 
    8. Quantum probability in cognition: lecture notes III.H–I

  4. Molecular computation
    1. Basic concepts: lecture notes IV.A 
      1. DNA basics
      2. DNA manipulation
    2. Filtering models
      1. Adleman: lecture notes IV.B.1 
      2. Lipton: lecture notes IV.B.2 
      3. Test tube programming language: lecture notes IV.B.3 
      4. Parallel filtering model: lecture notes IV.B.4 
    3. Formal models: lecture notes IV.C 
      1. Sticker systems
      2. Splicing systems
    4. Enzymatic computation: lecture notes IV.D - New!
    5. Universal DNA computers
    6. Chemical reaction systems
    7. Membrane systems (Paun)
    8. Summary
  5. Analog computation
    1. Computational power
    2. Computational complexity
  6. Spatial computation
    1. Cellular automata
    2. Cellular neural networks
    3. Computing with solitons etc.
    4. Reaction-diffusion computing
    5. Biocomputing
    6. Physarum machines
  7. Unstructured computation
    1. Liquid-state machines
    2. Reservoir computing
    3. Amorphous computing
    4. Blob computing
    5. Self-assembling systems
  8. Other potential topics
    1. Field computation
    2. Optical computing
    3. Carbon nanotubes
    4. Spintronics
    5. Relativistic computing
    6. Abstract geometrical computation
    7. Arithmetical hierarchy
    8. Algebraic TM computation
    9. Infinite-time computation


Assignments

  1. Due Sept. 5: II.1–6; extra credit: II.7
  2. Topics for presentations (Nov. 26 – Dec. 3) and term papers (due Dec. 7). 
  3. Due Nov. 14: III. 11, 13, 17, 22, 24, 34, 35, 37; extra credit: 33. See lecture notes III.J. 

Simulations

None at this time.

Online Resources

Return to MacLennan’s home page
 
Send mail to Bruce MacLennan / MacLennan@eecs.utk.edu

Valid HTML 4.01!This page is web.eecs.utk.edu/~mclennan/Classes/494-UC or web.eecs.utk.edu/~mclennan/Classes/594-UC
Last updated:  2012-11-21.