At this point in your academic careers, I feel that it would be impolite to harp on cheating, so I won't. You are all adults, or at least moving in that direction, and are expected to follow the university's code of academic conduct (you know, the honor c ode).

My policy in this class is simple: you may collaborate as much as you want on the homework assignments; during exams you may not so much as daydream about working with someone else; and on the programming projects, your submitted solutions must reflect yo ur own work.

For the projects, do not copy from others or let others copy your work; however, you may think of the TAs as your close collaborators. Feel free to go to them with any problems that you are having. That's why they are there.

For any solution, you must cite all of the resources you relied on for coming up with your answers. This includes web pages, publications, people, and so on, other than the textbook, instructor, and TAs. I expect that you understand proper attribution and the importance of intellectual honesty.

Finally, unauthorized use of any previous semester course materials, such as tests, quizzes, homework, projects, and any other coursework, is prohibited in this course. In particular, you are not allowed to use old exams. Using these materials will be con sidered a direct violation of academic policy and will be dealt with according to the GT Academic Honor Code. Furthermore, I do not allow copies of my exams out in the ether (so there should not be any out there for you to use anyway). My policy on that i s strict. If you violate the policy in any shape, form or fashion you will be dealt with according to the GT Academic Honor Code. I also have several... friends... from Texas who will help me personally deal with you.

Lectures are meant to summarize the readings and stress the important points. You are expected to come to class having already critically read any assigned material. Your active participation in class is crucial in making the course successful. I complete ly expect to be interrupted throughout a lecture with questions and maybe even your deep insights into the material.

This is a large part of my research area and I am deeply into it. I can prattle on for hours, and will enjoy myself to no end; however, this process is less about my teaching than about your learning. My role is merely to assist you in the process of lear ning more about the area. So participate.

Your final grade is divided into four components: homework assignments, projects, a midterm and a final exam.

• Homework. We will post textbook-style homeworks with short questions. We will not collect nor grade your solutions; however, solving these problems is important because they ensure that you have understood the material and are prepared for the exams. If you can answer these questions, you should have a good chance of doing well on the exams. We will post a solution to a homework about one week after we have assigned it.
• Projects. There will be ten graded projects. They will be relatively short because there are ten of them. As noted above, your solutions should reflect your own work.
• Midterm. There will be a written, closed-book midterm. With that and your first projects, you should have a fair indication of how you are doing by mid-semester. The exam will be in class.
• Final Exam. There will be a written, closed-book final exam at the scheduled time.

All graded assignments are due by the time and date indicated. I will not accept late assignments or make up exams. Please do not push me on this. You will get zero credit for any late assignment. The only exceptions will require: a note from an appropria te authority and immediate notification of the problem when it arises. Naturally, your excuse must be acceptable. If a meteor landed on your bed and destroyed your assignment, I need a signed note from the meteor. You should also treat assigned readings a s, well, assignments that are due at the beginning of each class.

Homework - 0%
Projects - 35%
Midterm - 30%
Final - 35%

Although class participation is not explictly graded, I will use your class participation to determine whether your grade can be lifted in case you are right on the edge of two grades. Participation means attending classes, participating in class discussi ons, asking relevant questions, volunteering to provide answers to questions, and providing constructive criticism and creative suggestions that improve the course.