Your group may pick its project topic from a list of suggestions that will be handed out in class, or you may choose your own topic. Anything related to computer architecture could become a project, but it should involve some implementation, design, or analysis - merely summarizing existing work in an area is not a project. Nonetheless, you'll have to do some library research on your topic to get a basic grounding in the material.
To insure progress throughout the semester, your project will have several milestones. Some of these milestones will consist solely of handing in a brief (1-2 pages) progress report. Other milestones will include both a brief report and a brief (10 minute) meetings with me. At these meetings, you'll have an opportunity to discuss any project-related issues that might have come up, or any difficulties you anticipate having. While these milestones shouldn't (of themselves) require lots of time, they will guarantee that your group isn't stuck doing an entire project in the last week of the semester. Milestones will not be graded except as part of the project as a whole. However, groups not meeting milestone dates will lose points from their final project grade.
I encourage you to pick projects that you (and the rest of your group) find interesting, since those are the ones that are easiest to work on. All groups will present their project results to the rest of the class. In addition, it's possible that some particularly good projects could lead to published papers, perhaps with some additional work.
It's vital that you not fall behind in homework assignments; as a
result, homework will only be accepted up to 5 days late. Homeworks
should be handed in by the start of class on the due date. Late
homework, which will lose 10% of its original value for each of the
first two days late and 15% per day thereafter, should be left in my
mailbox. You're welcome (and encouraged) to hand in homework by
e-mail.
Grading
Your grade will be based on the term project (37%), exams (35%),
homework (25%), and class participation (3%). You must take all the
exams and hand in a project in order to pass the class. While you need
not do all of the homeworks, the zeros from missing assignments can
adversely affect your grade. Incompletes will not be given except in
extraordinary circumstances. The grading scale will be:
| Grade | Points |
|---|---|
| A | 88 - 100 |
| B | 78 - 87 |
| C | 68 - 77 |
| D | 60 - 67 |
| F | 0 - 59 |