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 8/16 | TA Introduction & Assignment 0 Overview | |
| Lecture 2 | Friday 8/18 | Course Overview & Introduction to Heuristic Search Algorithms | ||
| Week 2 | Lecture 3 | Monday 8/21 | Computational Problem Classes & Review of Genetics and Neo-Darwinian Evolution Theory | Chapters 1 & 2 |
| Assignment 0 | Monday 8/21 | Assignment Environment Setup | ||
| Lecture 4 | Wednesday 8/23 | Introduction to Assignment Series 1 | ||
| Lecture 5 | Friday 8/25 | Introduction to Evolutionary Computing | §3.1, 3.2, 3.5, 3.6, 9.1, 9.2 | |
| Week 3 | Lecture 6 | Monday 8/28 | Introduction to Statistical Analysis of Stochastic Algorithms | §9.1, 9.2 |
| Lecture 7 | Wednesday 8/30 | Decoding & Knapsack Problem, Initialization | §3.2.1, 3.2.7, 3.4.2 | |
| Lecture 8 | Friday 9/1 | Genetic Drift, Representation | §4.1-4.4 | |
| TA Lab Hours | Friday 9/1 | 1:30 - 4:30 PM in BK 2174 | ||
| Assignment 1a | Sunday 9/3 | Analyzing Stochastic Algorithms | ||
| Week 4 | Labor Day | Monday 9/4 | No class | |
| 15th Class Day | Wednesday 9/6 | Last day to drop with no grade assignment | ||
| Lecture 9 | Wednesday 9/6 | Variation Operators | §4.1-4.3, 4.4.1, 4.4.3, 4.5.2 | |
| Lecture 10 | Friday 9/8 | Permutation Recombination Operators; Assignment 1b Logging | §4.5.2 | |
| Week 5 | Lecture 11 | Monday 9/11 | Population Models & Selection Methods | §5.1-5.3 |
| Exam 1 | Wednesday 9/13 | 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 9/15 | Constraint Handling | Chapter 13 | |
| TA Lab Hours | Friday 9/15 | 1:30 - 4:30 PM in BK 1163 | ||
| Assignment 1b | Sunday 9/17 | Implementing Evolutionary Algorithms | ||
| Week 6 | Lecture 13 | Monday 9/18 | Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithms (MOEAs) | Chapter 12 |
| Lecture 14 | Wednesday 9/20 | Assignment 1c Overview; MOEAs continued | Chapter 12 | |
| Lecture 15 | Friday 9/22 | Introduction to Parameter Tuning & Parameter Control | Chapters 7 & 8 | |
| Week 7 | Lecture 16 | Monday 9/25 | Assignment 1b Common Mistakes & Evolution Strategies | §4.4.2,6.2, Chapter 8 |
| Lecture 17 | Wednesday 9/27 | Multimodal Problems, Diversity Maintenance, Spatial Distribution | §5.5 | |
| Lecture 18 | Friday 9/29 | Evolutionary Programming | §5.3.2, 6.3 | |
| TA Lab Hours | Friday 9/29 | 1:30 - 4:30 PM in BK 2174 | ||
| Assignment 1c | Sunday 10/1 | Constraint Satisfaction and another cool topic to be announced | ||
| Week 8 | Lecture 19 | Monday 10/2 | Learning Classifier Systems | §6.5 |
| Career Fair | Tuesday 10/3 | Samuel Ginn College of Engineering Career Fair - Week Two - Computer Science Recruiting | ||
| Lecture 20 | Wednesday 10/4 | Memetic EAs, Lamarckianism, Baldwin Effect | Chapter 10 | |
| Mid-Semester | Thursday 10/5 | Mid-Semester - 36th Class Day | ||
| Lecture 21 | Friday 10/6 | Genetic Programming: The Movie - Part 1 | Section 6.4 | |
| Week 9 | Lecture 22 | Monday 10/9 | Section 6.4 | |
| Exam 2 | Wednesday 10/11 | Exam covering all material covered through Lecture 22 | ||
| Fall Break | Friday 10/13 | No class | ||
| Week 10 | Lecture 23 | Monday 10/16 | Section 6.4 | |
| Lecture 24 | Wednesday 10/18 | GP The Movie Part 1 | Sections 4.6, 6.4 | |
| Lecture 25 | Friday 10/20 | GP The Movie Part 2 | ||
| TA Lab Hours | Friday 10/20 | 1:30 - 4:30 PM in BK 2174 | ||
| Assignment 1d | Sunday 10/22 | Multi-Objective Optimization | ||
| Week 11 | Lecture 26 | Monday 10/23 | GPac Presentation by Deacon | |
| Lecture 27 | Wednesday 10/25 | GP Case Studies | ||
| Lecture 28 | Friday 10/27 | GP Variants Lecture by Sean | ||
| Week 12 | Lecture 29 | Monday 10/30 | Learning Classifier Systems | §6.5 |
| Lecture 30 | Wednesday 11/1 | Schema Theory | §16.1 | |
| Lecture 31 | Friday 11/3 | Schema Theory cont. + Differential Evolution | §16.1,6.6 | |
| TA Lab Hours | Friday 11/3 | 1:30 - 4:30 PM in BK 2174 | ||
| Assignment 2a | Sunday 11/5 | Tree Representations | ||
| Week 13 | Lecture 32 | Monday 11/6 | Schema Theory Sample Exam Questions, No Free Lunch Theorem, Memetic Algorithms, Lamarckianism, Baldwin Effect, Hyper-heuristics | §16.1, 16.10, Chapter 10 |
| Lecture 33 | Wednesday 11/8 | Hyper-heuristics cont. | ||
| Lecture 34 | Friday 11/10 | Asynchronous Parallel EAs, Interactive EAs | Chapter 14 | |
| Week 14 | Lecture 35 | Monday 11/13 | Coevolution | Chapter 15 |
| Lecture 36 | Wednesday 11/15 | Island Models and Competitive Coevolution | ||
| Lecture 37 | Friday 11/17 | Neuroevolution, CMA-ES, Quality Diversity | ||
| Last Withdraw Day | Friday 11/17 | Last Day to Withdraw | ||
| TA Lab Hours | Friday 11/17 | 1:30 - 4:30 PM in BK 2174 | ||
| Assignment 2b | Sunday 11/19 | Genetic Programming | ||
| Week 15 | No class | Monday 11/20 | Thanksgiving Break | |
| No class | Wednesday 11/22 | Thanksgiving Break | ||
| No class | Friday 11/24 | Thanksgiving Break | ||
| Week 16 | Lecture 38 | Monday 11/27 | Braden's Presentation - Breaking the Cycle: Exploring the Advantages of Novel Evolutionary Cycles | |
| Exam 3 | Wednesday 11/29 | Exam covering all material covered through Lecture 38 | Chapters 1-5, Sections 6.1-6.6, Chapters 7 & 8, Sections 9.1 & 9.2, Chapters 10, 12-15, Sections 16.1 & 16.10 | |
| Lecture 39 | Friday 12/1 | Deacon's Lecture on AI Software Development | ||
| TA Lab Hours | Friday 12/1 | 1:30 - 4:30 PM in BK 2174 | ||
| Assignment 2c | Sunday 12/3 | Genetic Programming & Coevolution | ||
| Week 17 | Final Exam | Friday 12/8 10:30am-12:30pm | Comprehensive Exam covering all course material (regular class room) | Chapters 1-5, Sections 6.1-6.6, Chapters 7 & 8, Sections 9.1 & 9.2, Chapters 10, 12-15, Sections 16.1 & 16.10 |