CMSC-652: Assignments (spring 1997)
Research Project
In consultation with the instructor, propose and carry out a focused
original research project related to the course. To begin you must
identify a research paper (or small number of research papers) that
establish a frontier of knowledge related to your project. Your
project must attempt to extend, refine, or improve this paper in some
focused novel and significant way. (It is OK if your attempt fails,
in which case you should explain what you tried and why it didn't work.)
To begin the process of selecting a paper, first identify a
research conference that closely matches your interests. Then,
select three papers from recent proceedings of this conference
that interest you and match your topic. From these papers, try
to find a paper on which to begin your research (your final paper selection
does not have to be from the conference).
Communicate your findings in a 30-minute oral presentation
and in a written technical report.
Your project will be graded on the basis
of its quality (correctness, novelty, significance, non-triviality),
appropriateness to the course, and effective presentation. Quality, not
quantity is important.
- Written proposal due: March 13.
- Project presentations: April 24-May 8.
- Written project reports due: May 8.
Reading Assignments
See course readings.
Research Paper Presentation
In consultation with the instructor, select an interesting and
significant research paper and present it to the class. Use
whatever methods you deem best to help the class understand
the paper. For example, you might choose to make handouts,
overhead transparencies, or exercises. Your presentation must fit
into and fill one class period.
During your presentation, be sure to explain what problem
the author solved, why the author solved the problem, and
how the author carried out the work. In addition, you should
clearly identify what is novel and significant about the work.
As part of your presentation, it is usually an effective
strategy to explain an example or special case of the technical
work.
You are welcome to (but not required to) present the paper
that forms the starting point for your research project.
- Paper selection due: March 11.
WWW Page
Construct a WWW page relating to this course. Be creative
and be helpful to your readers. The WWW page will be evaluated on the
basis of its cryptographic content, not its fancy use of hypertext languages.
As long as your page is relevant to the course, you are welcome to
any approach or focus that you wish.