1. General Information

Prereq: CSCE310, Data structures and algorithms or permission

Course description: Introduction to the basic principles, techniques and tools now being used in the area of computational. Lecture topics will include problem solving, knowledge representation and reasoning, search, expert systems, and planning and action. More advanced topics may be included depending on class interests and performance. Programming will be done in Common Lisp using Allegro Common Lisp (ACL) and its programming environment.

Lectures: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, from 2:30 p.m. to 3:20 p.m.
Location: Avery Hall, Room 118.

Make-up Class/Recitation: Monday from 5:00 p.m. to 5:50 p.m.
Location: Avery Hall, Room 20.

Instructor:   Prof.  Berthe Y. Choueiry
      Office location: Room 360, Avery Hall,
      Office hours: Wednesday/Friday 3:30-4:30 p.m. or by appointment.

TA:   Grad TA Nathan Stender

      Office location: Room 123D, Avery Hall
      Office hours: @ Student Resource Center on Thursdays 5:30--6:30 p.m. or by appointment.

Textbooks (check the bookstore):

• Required: Artificial Intelligence, A Modern Approach (AIMA), Third Edition, by Russell & Norvig.
• Required: LISP, 3rd Edition; (LWH). Winston & Horn.
• Optional (recommended): Common Lisp, the Language. Guy Steele.

2. Communications

• Course WebPage: You can access all information about the course from the course WebPage. Check the course schedule to prepare for each class.
• Blackboad: Grades are posted on Blackboard. Check them regularly and alert us about grading errors within 7 calendar days.
• Piazza: For a quick response, send your questions to Piazza. Your message will be read by the TA and the instructor and they will respond to you ASAP.
• Webhandin: All homework, projects, reports, etc. must be submitted via the webhandin system of CSE.
• Anonymous Suggestion Box: You may also choose to drop us a note in the Anonymous Suggestion Box to express any opinion about the course. (You can do it also via Piazza.)

3. Protocol of the Course

The course consists of lectures by the instructor, 3 times per week.

Workload

Required and recommended reading (as indicated in the Class schedule)

Programming, theoretical, and library-search assignments:

• Programming assignments must be done in Common Lisp (advice: use Allegro Common Lisp on Linux) and turned in using web handin program on cse.unl.edu.
• Pen+paper assignments must be given to the instructor in class. All assignments (including programming and pen+paper assignments)  must be turned in before the lecture on the due date.
• Late homework are subject to a 20% deduction per day (including week-ends), any second after the due date counts as an entire day.
• Students are kindly requested to indicate how much time they approximately spend on each exercise; this information will be aggregated and used for load-balancing purposes, it does not affect grading and the evaluation of individuals.

Surprise quizzes:

Tests:

• There will be one pre-test, one mid-term and one final.
• Tests cannot be taken in advance. Tests cannot be made up except by instructor's permission.
• Unless specified, tests are closed-book exams. Students may  however use a one 81/2"x11" sheet as crib sheet. Students may use both sides of the sheet and write as small as they like.
• Crib sheets may have only definitions, theorems, general comments. No proofs and no solutions of examples or of problems are allowed.
• Crib sheets must be handwritten. No photocopies, typewritten paper, electronic/mechanical reproductions will ever be allowed.
• Finally, students must handin their crib sheet with their exam.

Attendance:

Alerts

• It is the students responsibility to ensure an account on the department's server or PCs (with Linux), in order to run xemacs (editor) and Allegro Common Lisp (ACL), the programming environment.
• Some communications with the class will be carried over email. It is the students responsibility to ensure that their email account on cse.unl.edu is working properly.
• Discussions among students, instructor, and TA (if any) are encouraged. Homework however are a strictly individual activity: no sharing is permitted (unless when specified by instructor). Unethical behavior will be heavily sanctioned (e.g., a null grade on the task).
• Always acknowledge any help received from other individuals.
• Always fully reference material used (e.g., encyclopedia, book, paper, journal, web site).

4. Grading Policy

Grade Distribution

• Pre-test: 5%
• (Surprise) quizzes: 15%
• Homework: 30% (Programming assignments will be graded as follows: 70% for correctness, 10% for programming style, and 20% for documentation.)
• Midterm: 25%
• Final: 25%

Grade Conversion

4. How to Secure a Good Final Grade

Attendance

Glossaries

• Students will be have to build an incremental and alphabetically sorted glossary of important terms.
• Terms to be included are the ones listed in the handouts distributed in class or sent my email.
• A glossary entry can be filled with: (1) its definition in AIMA, (2) its definition from another AI textbook, dictionary, or web resource, or (3) the student's own interpretation.
• All terms encountered during a week are due as a weekly glossary the following Monday or as indicated on the course web page.
• At the end of the course, the full alphabetically sorted glossary is due. (Hint:  choose a text editor that can sort entries alphabetically.)

Additional Work

5. Department and University Policies

The Student Resource Center is located in Avery 13A. It is a valuable place to go for general CSE related issues.

It is CSE Department policy that all students in CSE courses are expected to regularly check their email so they do not miss important announcements.

All homework assignments, quizzes, exams, etc. must be your own work. No direct collaboration with fellow students, past or current, is allowed unless otherwise stated. The Computer Science & Engineering department has an Academic Integrity Policy. All students enrolled in any computer science course are bound by this policy. You are expected to read, understand, and follow this policy. Violations will be dealt with on a case by case basis and may result in a failing assignment or a failing grade for the course itself.

The CSE Department has an anonymous suggestion box that you may use to voice your concerns about any problems in the course or department if you do not wish to be identified.

Students with disabilities are encouraged to contact the instructor or teaching assistant for a confidential discussion of their individual needs for academic accommodation. It is the policy of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to provide flexible and individualized accommodations to students with documented disabilities that may affect their ability to fully participate in course activities or to meet course requirements. To receive accommodation services, students must be registered with the Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) office, 132 Canfield Administration, 472-3787 voice or TTY.

6. Books on Reserve at the Math Library in Avery

AI

Lisp

Other Topics

7. Other (AI) References

8. Online Resources

On-line tutorials

References

Finally, a touch of poetry: Only LISP Can Make a Tree.