Note: this is a dynamic schedule, it will almost definitely change as the semester progresses, so make sure to regularly check for changes!
| Week | Event | Date | Topic | Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Lecture 1 | Wednesday 8/17 | Course Logistics & Assignment 0 | Syllabus |
| Lecture 2 | Friday 8/19 | Introduction to Heuristic Search Algorithms | §3.7 | |
| Week 2 | Lecture 3 | Monday 8/22 | Computational Problem Classes & Review of Genetics and Neo-Darwinian Evolution Theory | Chapters 1 & 2 |
| Assignment 0 | Monday 8/22 | Assignment Environment Setup | ||
| Lecture 4 | Wednesday 8/24 | Introduction to Assignment Series 1 | ||
| Lecture 5 | Friday 8/26 | Introduction to Evolutionary Computing | §3.1, 3.2, 3.5, 3.6, 9.1, 9.2 | |
| Week 3 | Lecture 6 | Monday 8/29 | Introduction to Statistical Analysis of Stochastic Algorithms | §9.1, 9.2 |
| Lecture 7 | Wednesday 8/31 | Decoding & Knapsack Problem, Initialization | §3.2.1, 3.2.7., 3.4.2 | |
| Lecture 8 | Friday 9/2 | Genetic Drift, Representation, Mutation | §4.1-4.4.1, 4.5.1 | |
| TA Lab Hours | Friday 9/2 | 1:00 - 4:00 PM in BK 2116 | ||
| Assignment 1a | Sunday 9/4 | Analyzing Stochastic Algorithms | ||
| Week 4 | Labor Day | Monday 9/5 | No class | |
| 15th Class Day | Tuesday 9/6 | Last day to drop with no grade assignment | ||
| Lecture 9 | Wednesday 9/7 | Permutation Recombination Operators | §4.5.2 | |
| Lecture 10 | Friday 9/9 | Recombination Operators | &4.1-4.3, 4.4.3, 4.5.2 | |
| Week 5 | Lecture 11 | Monday 9/12 | Population Models & Selection Methods | §5.1-5.3 |
| Exam 1 | Wednesday 9/14 | Exam covering all material covered through Lecture 11 | Chapters 1-5 (not §4.4.2, 4.6, 5.4, nor 5.5), §6.1, §9.1, 9.2 | |
| Lecture 12 | Friday 9/16 | Constraint Handling | Chapter 13 | |
| TA Lab Hours | Friday 9/16 | 1-4pm in Brown-Kopel 2122 | ||
| Assignment 1b | Sunday 9/18 | Implementing Evolutionary Algorithms | ||
| Week 6 | Lecture 13 | Monday 9/19 | Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithms (MOEAs) | Chapter 12 |
| Career Fair | Tuesday 9/20 | Samuel Ginn College of Engineering Career Fair - Day One | ||
| Lecture 14 | Wednesday 9/21 | Assignment 1c Overview; MOEAs continued | Chapter 12 | |
| Career Fair | Wednesday 9/21 | Samuel Ginn College of Engineering Career Fair - Day Two | ||
| Lecture 15 | Friday 9/23 | Introduction to Parameter Tuning & Parameter Control | Chapters 7 & 8 | |
| Week 7 | Lecture 16 | Monday 9/26 | Assignment 1b Common Mistakes& Evolution Strategies | §4.4.2,6.2, Chapter 8 |
| Lecture 17 | Wednesday 9/28 | Multimodal Problems, Diversity Maintenance, Spatial Distribution | §5.5 | |
| Lecture 18 | Friday 9/30 | Evolutionary Programming | §5.3.2, 6.3 | |
| TA Lab Hours | Friday 9/30 | 1:00 - 4:00 PM in BK 2116 | ||
| Assignment 1c | Sunday 10/2 | Constraint Satisfaction and Multi-Objective Optimization | ||
| Week 8 | Lecture 19 | Monday 10/3 | Learning Classifier Systems | §6.5 |
| Mid-Semester | Wednesday 10/5 | Mid-Semester - 36th Class Day | ||
| Lecture 20 | Wednesday 10/5 | Memetic EAs, Lamarckianism, Baldwin Effect | Chapter 10 | |
| Fall Break | Friday 10/7 | No class | ||
| Week 9 | Lecture 21 | Monday 10/10 | Genetic Programming: The Movie - Introduction | Section 6.4 |
| Lecture 22 | Wednesday 10/12 | Genetic Programming: The Movie | Section 6.4 | |
| Lecture 23 | Friday 10/14 | GP Variants + Real-World Case Study | Section 6.4 | |
| TA Lab Hours | Friday 10/14 | 1:00 - 4:00 PM in BK 2116 | ||
| Assignment 1d | Sunday 10/16 | Island-Model Evolutionary Algorithms | ||
| Week 10 | Lecture 24 | Monday 10/17 | Genetic Programming continued | Sections 4.6, 6.4 |
| Lecture 25 | Wednesday 10/19 | GPac Controller Implementation | ||
| Exam 2 | Friday 10/21 | Exam covering all material covered through Lecture 25 | ||
| Week 11 | Lecture 26 | Monday 10/24 | GA Schema Theory | §16.1 |
| Lecture 27 | Wednesday 10/26 | Population Sizing | ||
| Lecture 28 | Friday 10/28 | Assignment 2a Q&A with TAs (30 minutes max) | ||
| TA Lab Hours | Friday 10/28 | 1:30 - 4:00 PM in BK 2116 | ||
| Assignment 2a | Sunday 10/30 | Tree Representations | ||
| Week 12 | Lecture 29 | Monday 10/31 | Hyper-heuristics (Part 1) | |
| Lecture 30 | Wednesday 11/2 | Hyper-heuristics (Part 2) | ||
| Lecture 31 | Friday 11/4 | Hyper-heuristics (Part 3) + Asynchronous EAs | ||
| Week 13 | Lecture 32 | Monday 11/7 | Coevolution | Chapter 15 |
| Lecture 33 | Wednesday 11/9 | Sean's Opponent Sampling Lecture | ||
| Lecture 34 | Friday 11/11 | Deacon's Maelstrom Lecture | ||
| TA Lab Hours | Friday 11/11 | 1:00 - 4:00 PM in BK 2116 | ||
| Assignment 2b | Sunday 11/13 | Genetic Programming | ||
| Week 14 | Lecture 35 | Monday 11/14 | CIAO plots and CoEA case study | |
| Lecture 36 | Wednesday 11/16 | Braden's Directed Graph Lecture | ||
| Lecture 37 | Friday 11/18 | Deacon's Surprise Lecture | ||
| Last Withdraw Day | Friday 11/18 | Last Day to Withdraw | ||
| Week 15 | No class | Monday 11/21 | Thanksgiving Break | |
| No class | Wednesday 11/23 | Thanksgiving Break | ||
| No class | Friday 11/25 | Thanksgiving Break | ||
| Assignment 2c | Sunday 11/27 | Genetic Programming & Coevolution | ||
| Week 16 | Lecture 38 | Monday 11/28 | Interactive EAs | Chapter 14 |
| Exam 3 | Wednesday 11/30 | Exam covering all material covered through Lecture 38 | Chapters 1-5, Sections 6.1-6.5, Chapters 7 & 8, Sections 9.1 & 9.2, Chapters 10, 12-15, Section 16.1 | |
| Lecture 39 | Friday 12/2 | Final Exam Review | Chapters 1-5, Sections 6.1-6.5, Chapters 7 & 8, Sections 9.1 & 9.2, Chapters 10, 12-15, Section 16.1 | |
| Week 17 | Final Exam | Thursday 12/8 12:00-2:30pm | Comprehensive Exam covering all course material (regular class room) | Chapters 1-5, Sections 6.1-6.5, Chapters 7 & 8, Sections 9.1 & 9.2, Chapters 10, 12-15, Section 16.1 |