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Due |
Reading |
Links |
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| 1 |
Sun
Jan 12 |
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Mon
Jan 13 |
Final Enrollment |
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Tue
Jan 14 |
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Wed
Jan 15 |
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Thu
Jan 16 |
Introductions
Daily Summary
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Fri
Jan 17 |
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Sat
Jan 18 |
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| 2 |
Sun
Jan 19 |
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Mon
Jan 20 |
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day |
Daily Summary |
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Tue
Jan 21 |
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Wed
Jan 22 |
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Thu
Jan 23 |
Better Late Than Never: The Mathematics Of A Christmas Gift Exchange
Mark Bollman
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
Albion College
Daily Summary
MLK Convocation, 7pm |
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Fri
Jan 24 |
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Sat
Jan 25 |
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| 3 |
Sun
Jan 26 |
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Mon
Jan 27 |
Last day to register for Credit/No Credit |
Daily Summary |
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Tue
Jan 28 |
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Wed
Jan 29 |
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Thu
Jan 30 |
``What?'': How computers understand human language
Martha O'Kennon
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
Albion College
Daily Summary
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Fri
Jan 31 |
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Sat
Feb 1 |
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| 4 |
Sun
Feb 2 |
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Mon
Feb 3 |
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Daily Summary |
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Tue
Feb 4 |
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Wed
Feb 5 |
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Thu
Feb 6 |
Computer modeling and simulation of traffic flow through intersections
Tom Maleck
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Michigan State University
Daily Summary
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Fri
Feb 7 |
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Sat
Feb 8 |
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| 5 |
Sun
Feb 9 |
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Mon
Feb 10 |
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Daily Summary |
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Tue
Feb 11 |
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Wed
Feb 12 |
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Thu
Feb 13 |
Fibonacci
It's as easy as 1, 1, 2, 3, ...
John Wenzel
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
Albion College
Daily Summary
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Fri
Feb 14 |
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Sat
Feb 15 |
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| 6 |
Sun
Feb 16 |
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Mon
Feb 17 |
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Daily Summary |
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Tue
Feb 18 |
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Wed
Feb 19 |
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Thu
Feb 20 |
Antoine's Necklace and the Amazing Cantor Set
Bob Messer
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
Albion College
The Cantor set appears in many disguises to illustrate
the basic concepts of topology.
The standard Cantor set in the unit interval is interesting
enough, but topologist like to bend and stretch things.
So we develop a way to recognize the Cantor set even if
we were to meet it at night in a dark alley. We check out
the Stonehenge of Cantor sets, enjoy the Cantor set on
Broadway, and try on Antoine's necklace.
Click
here
for exercises related to this talk.
Daily Summary
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Fri
Feb 21 |
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Sat
Feb 22 |
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| 7 |
Sun
Feb 23 |
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Mon
Feb 24 |
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Daily Summary |
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Tue
Feb 25 |
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Wed
Feb 26 |
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Thu
Feb 27 |
The Statistics Behind the Testing of Genetically Modified Organisms
Ferit Kivanç
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
Albion College
Daily Summary
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Fri
Feb 28 |
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Sat
Mar 1 |
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| 8 |
Sun
Mar 2 |
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Mon
Mar 3 |
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Daily Summary |
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Tue
Mar 4 |
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Wed
Mar 5 |
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Thu
Mar 6 |
Computed Tomography:
The technology behind the pictures
David A. Reimann
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
Albion College
Computed Tomography (CT) has revolutionized medicine in the last 30 years.
Computers are an essential in performing the millions of computations
required to generate cross-sectional images. New advances allow truly
three-dimensional images to be acquired, displayed, and analyzed.
Come learn about the technology behing the pictures!
Daily Summary
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Fri
Mar 7 |
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Sat
Mar 8 |
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| 9 |
Sun
Mar 9 |
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Mon
Mar 10 |
No Class
Spring Break |
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Tue
Mar 11 |
No Class
Spring Break |
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Wed
Mar 12 |
No Class
Spring Break |
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Thu
Mar 13 |
No Class
Spring Break |
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Fri
Mar 14 |
No Class
Spring Break |
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Sat
Mar 15 |
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| 10 |
Sun
Mar 16 |
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Mon
Mar 17 |
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Daily Summary |
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Tue
Mar 18 |
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Wed
Mar 19 |
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Thu
Mar 20 |
Online Algorithms and Competitive Analysis
In online computation, an algorithm must decide how to handle incoming
requests without knowledge of future requests. The quality of these
algorithms is not evaluated as correct or incorrect, but instead is
measured relative to the performance of an algorithm that has complete
knowledge of the future. This technique, called competitive analysis,
has been applied to numerous problems in Computer Science. In this
talk, I will formally define online computation and introduce the
study of online algorithms though competitive analysis. I will give
representative examples of online algorithms and present the proof of
the competitive ratio for a simple online scheduling algorithm.
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Fri
Mar 21 |
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Sat
Mar 22 |
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| 11 |
Sun
Mar 23 |
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Mon
Mar 24 |
Academic Advsing |
Daily Summary |
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Tue
Mar 25 |
Academic Advsing |
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Wed
Mar 26 |
Academic Advsing |
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Thu
Mar 27 |
DNA Computing and Coding
Molecular computing is a field that focuses on manipulations with single
molecules for computational purposes. The most powerful molecules that
have been found for these purposes are deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
and bacteriorhodopsin. Through the powers of biomolecular computing the
extraordinary parallelism occurring in nature can be exploited and used
to our advantage. Great parallelism at nanoscales has been discovered
to be inherent in natural phenomena and we can now realistically
imagine this power being used to solve computational problems. The
formulation of evolutionary algorithms in biomolecules would present a
very effective alternative for the growing demands of computational power
in our world. This presentation will consist of a brief summary of major
advances in biomolecular computing, both theoretical and experimental
as well as the potentials of biomolecular computing. The focus will be
on the algorithms for some NP Problems and on the Encoding Problem.
Daily Summary
Academic Advsing |
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Fri
Mar 28 |
Academic Advsing
Last Day to withdraw from a course with a W |
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Sat
Mar 29 |
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| 12 |
Sun
Mar 30 |
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Mon
Mar 31 |
Academic Advsing |
Daily Summary |
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Tue
Apr 1 |
Academic Advsing |
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Wed
Apr 2 |
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Thu
Apr 3 |
How to optimize in infinite dimensions: A primer in variational
calculus
Darren Mason
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
Albion College
Daily Summary
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Fri
Apr 4 |
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Sat
Apr 5 |
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| 13 |
Sun
Apr 6 |
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Mon
Apr 7 |
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Daily Summary |
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Tue
Apr 8 |
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Wed
Apr 9 |
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Thu
Apr 10 |
A design document for the construction of an interactive
entertainment experience entitled Paradox
Matt Linden '03
Mathematics Major
Music Major
Computer Science Minor
Video games, particularly role-playing games, have long held a fascination
for me through their intense storylines, stirring themes, moving melodies,
and cutting-edge graphics. I have always believed that video games can be
used for more than mere entertainment; they can be effective tools also
for education and moral instruction. For this reason, I see this project
not just as a game but as an interactive entertainment experience. The
first step in the production of any video game is the creation of a design
document integrating all details relating to the game. Role-playing games
in particular require their design documents to include story crafting,
event flowcharting, character generation and interaction, world building,
graphical design, set-up and layout design, musical composition, a great
deal of creativity, and intense revision. Since my early childhood,
I have taken special delight in creating such wondrous characters and
plots taken out of the fantasy and science fiction genres. Paradox
evolved from a collection of ideas developed over many years. Recently,
there has been much refinement of these concepts and encouragement from
loved ones to take the initial musings and evolve them into a dream.
My design document describes the game Paradox as a fantastical
world of heroes, magic, and monsters, and also as a collection of lives
and events exploring themes of love, friendship, good, and evil. I am
at the point where my dream has the potential to become a reality.
Daily Summary
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Fri
Apr 11 |
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Sat
Apr 12 |
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| 14 |
Sun
Apr 13 |
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Mon
Apr 14 |
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Daily Summary |
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Tue
Apr 15 |
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Wed
Apr 16 |
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Thu
Apr 17 |
Simple Program Generation for Tutoring Novice Computer Science
Rick Straughen '03
Computer Science Major
Mathematics Major
A challenge in learning programming is understanding the syntax
and semantics of computer languages. The syntax of a programming
language is often represented by syntax diagrams, or equivalently, in
Backus-Naur Form. In most cases, the syntactical structure of a language
is recursively defined using non-terminal units, which ultimately lead
to terminal units. The language syntax only specifies structure, but
many structures have an implied meaning. A program is comprised of
numerous syntactical units. The meaning of a program is derived from
the relationship among all of the comprising syntactical units. A Java
program was developed that randomly generates simple programs in Pascal.
Java functions were created corresponding to each of the syntax diagrams
defining Pascal. To generate a program, all non-terminal units need
to be expressed as a collection of terminal units. The Java program
combines these units randomly, following rules specified by the syntax.
Many constraints are placed on the output, in order to assure programs
relevant for novice computer science students are produced. A simple
program occurs when terminals are reached in a few steps. Another issue
is that syntactically correct programs can be created which have no real
meaning. Variables have different types, so type matching within each
expression is also critical. Further work includes providing a web-based
user interface and testing in a classroom setting. This program can
be generalized for other programming languages and subject areas such
as mathematics.
Daily Summary
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Fri
Apr 18 |
Good Friday |
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Sat
Apr 19 |
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| 15 |
Sun
Apr 20 |
Easter |
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Mon
Apr 21 |
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Daily Summary |
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Tue
Apr 22 |
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Wed
Apr 23 |
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Thu
Apr 24 |
Classes Deferred
Daily Summary
Honors Convocation
Elkin R. Isaac Student Research Symposium |
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Fri
Apr 25 |
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Sat
Apr 26 |
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| 16 |
Sun
Apr 27 |
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Mon
Apr 28 |
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Term Paper
Daily Summary |
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Tue
Apr 29 |
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Wed
Apr 30 |
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Thu
May 1 |
Evaluations
Jeff Weeks (@ Kalamazoo, Optional)
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Fri
May 2 |
No Class
Reading Day |
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Sat
May 3 |
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| 17 |
Sun
May 4 |
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Mon
May 5 |
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Tue
May 6 |
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Wed
May 7 |
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Thu
May 8 |
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Fri
May 9 |
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Sat
May 10 |
Commencement |
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