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 | Session 1 | Monday 8/17 | Course Overview, Introduction of TAs & Assignment 0 | Canvas, Syllabus |
| Session 2 | Wednesday 8/19 | Introduction to Computational Problem Classes & Search - Mad Engineer Thought Experiment | Chapter 1 | |
| Session 3 | Friday 8/21 | Heuristic Search, Assignment 0, Introduction to Assignment Series 1 | Chapter 2 | |
| Assignment 0 | Sunday 8/23 | Assignment Environment Setup | ||
| Week 2 | Session 4 | Monday 8/24 | Meta-heuristics and Introduction to Evolutionary Computing | Chapter 1, §3.1, 3.7 |
| Session 5 | Wednesday 8/26 | Introduction to Genetics and Neo-Darwinian Evolution Theory for Evolutionary Computing | Chapter 2, §3.1, 3.2, 3.6 | |
| Session 6 | Friday 8/28 | Measuring EA Performance & Statistical Analysis of Stochastic Algorithms | §3.5, 9.1, 9.2 | |
| Week 3 | Session 7 | Monday 8/31 | Decoding & Knapsack Problem, Representation | §3.2.1, 3.4 |
| Session 8 | Wednesday 9/2 | Genetic Drift, Representation, Variation Operators | §4.1-4.4, 4.5.2 | |
| Session 9 | Friday 9/4 | In-class Assignment 1a work with TA support | ||
| 15th Class Day | Friday 9/4 | Last day to drop with no grade assignment | ||
| Assignment 1a | Sunday 9/6 | Analyzing Stochastic Algorithms | ||
| Week 4 | Labor Day | Monday 9/7 | No class | |
| Session 10 | Wednesday 9/9 | Permutation Recombination Operators | §4.5.2 | |
| Session 11 | Friday 9/11 | Population Models & Selection Methods | §5.1-5.3 | |
| Extracurricular EC Presentation | Friday 9/11 | Lead TA Ruby's dissertation proposal defense "Evolutionary Algorithms Simulating Molecular Evolution: Applications for Advanced In Silico Proteomics | Zoom link | |
| Week 5 | Session 12 | Monday 9/14 | Parameter Tuning | Chapter 7 |
| Career Fair | Monday 9/14 | Engineering Career Fair Day 1: 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM | ||
| Session 13 | Wednesday 9/16 | Assignment 1b Tuning Lecture | ||
| Career Fair | Thursday 9/17 | Engineering Career Fair Day 2: 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM | ||
| Session 14 | Friday 9/18 | Technical writing tips, EA Dynamics, Four-Peak Thought Experiment | §5.4 | |
| Assignment 1b | Sunday 9/20 | Implementing & Tuning Evolutionary Algorithms | ||
| Week 6 | Session 15 | Monday 9/21 | Constraint Handling | Chapter 13 |
| Session 16 | Wednesday 9/23 | Exam 1 covering all material covered through Session 14 (not Session 15) | Chapters 1-5 (not §4.4.2, 4.6, nor 5.5), §6.1, §9.1, 9.2 | |
| Session 17 | Friday 9/25 | Parameter Control | Chapter 8 | |
| Week 7 | Session 18 | Monday 9/28 | Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithms (MOEAs) | Chapter 12 |
| Session 19 | Wednesday 9/30 | MOEA In-Class Exercises | Chapter 12 | |
| Session 20 | Friday 10/2 | MOEA In-Class Exercises cont., deterioration, non-elitist MOEAs, NSGA-II | Chapter 12 | |
| Assignment 1c | Sunday 10/4 | Constraint Satisfaction | ||
| Week 8 | Session 21 | Monday 10/5 | Evolution Strategies | §6.2 |
| Mid-Semester | Tuesday 10/6 | Mid-Semester - 36th Class Day | ||
| Session 22 | Wednesday 10/7 | TBD | ||
| Fall Break | Thursday 10/8 & Friday 10/9 | No class | ||
| Week 9 | Session 23 | Monday 10/12 | Evolutionary Programming with In-Class Exercise | §5.3.2, 6.3 |
| Session 24 | Wednesday 10/14 | Genetic Programming - The Movie | §4.6, 6.4 | |
| Session 25 | Friday 10/16 | Genetic Programming | §4.6, 6.4 | |
| Assignment 1d | Sunday 10/18 | Multi-Objective Optimization | ||
| Week 10 | Session 26 | Monday 10/19 | Assignment Series 2 Introduction | |
| Session 27 | Wednesday 10/21 | Exam 2 covering all material covered through Session 25 (not Session 26) | ||
| Session 28 | Friday 10/23 | Sean's GP Variants Lecture | §4.6, 6.4 | |
| Week 11 | Session 29 | Monday 10/26 | Multimodal Problems, Diversity Maintenance, Restricted Mating, Island Model, Cellular EAs, Automatic Speciation | §5.5.1, 5.5.2, 5.5.5-5.5.7 |
| Session 30 | Wednesday 10/28 | Fitness Sharing, Crowding, Population Size Control, Autonomous EAs | §5.5.3, 5.5.4, 8.4.6 | |
| Session 31 | Friday 10/30 | Automated Population Sizing & Mate Selection | ||
| Assignment 2a | Sunday 11/1 | Tree Representations | ||
| Week 12 | Session 32 | Monday 11/2 | Hyper-heuristics | |
| Session 33 | Wednesday 11/4 | Hyper-heuristic case studies | ||
| Session 34 | Friday 11/6 | Schema Theory | §16.1 | |
| Week 13 | Session 35 | Monday 11/9 | Asynchronous Parallel EAs, Differential Evolution | §6.6 |
| Session 36 | Wednesday 11/11 | EAs Simulating Molecular Evolution (EASME) | ||
| Session 37 | Friday 11/13 | Neuroevolution, CMA-ES, Quality Diversity | ||
| Assignment 2b | Sunday 11/15 | Genetic Programming | ||
| Week 14 | Session 38 | Monday 11/16 | Coevolutionary Algorithms | Chapter 15 |
| Session 39 | Wednesday 11/18 | No Free Lunch Theorem, Memetic Algorithms, Lamarckianism, Baldwin Effect | Chapter 10, §16.10 | |
| Session 40 | Friday 11/20 | Learning Classifier Systems | §6.5 | |
| Last Withdraw Day | Friday 11/20 | Last Day to Withdraw | ||
| Week 15 | No class | Monday 11/23 | Thanksgiving Break | |
| No class | Wednesday 11/25 | Thanksgiving Break | ||
| No class | Friday 11/27 | Thanksgiving Break | ||
| Week 16 | Session 41 | Monday 11/30 | Interactive EAs | Chapter 14 |
| Session 42 | Wednesday 12/2 | Assignment 2c | ||
| Assignment 2c | Wednesday 12/2 | Genetic Programming & Coevolution | ||
| Session 43 | Friday 12/4 | Exam 3 covering all material covered through Session 41 | 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 | |
| Week 17 | ||||
| Session 44 | Tuesday 12/8 10:30am-12:30pm | Final 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 |