Automata and Computation Theory (Fall 2018)


Time and Location: TTh 9:00-10:15pm, Maryland 110.

Instructor: Xin Li. Office hours: Wednesdays 10:30am-12:00pm, Malone 215, or by appointment

TA: Kuan Cheng. Office hours: Fridays 10:30am-11:30am, Malone 338.

CA: Lohita Sivaprakasam, Eric Cochran, Xiaoyan (Coco) Li. Office hours: Thursdays 3pm-4pm, Malone 222.
Xiaoyan (Coco) Li, William Bernardoni, Daniel Qian, Lohita Sivaprakasam. Office hours: Mondays 3pm-4pm, Malone 222.

Syllabus

Course description: This course is an introduction to the theory of computing. Topics include design of finite state automata, pushdown automata, linear bounded automata, Turing machines and phrase structure grammars; correspondence between automata and grammars; computable functions, decidable and undecidable problems, P and NP problems, NP-completeness, and randomization. Students may not receive credit for 601.231 and 601.631 for the same degree.

Pre Requisite: discrete math or permission.

Required Textbook: Michael Sipser, Introduction to the Theory of Computation, Third Edition.

Topics Covered and Textbook Correspondence

Assignments

Further readings

Wiki page of Hilbert's 10th problem

An article about Alan Turing

A website about Turing and the history of modern computing

Godel's letter to von Neumann

Clay Institute's official page about the P vs. NP problem

Lance Fortnow's exposition of the P vs. NP problem