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Homework 0

This assignment will be graded on participation; so long as you make an effort on each problem and upload a legible pdf or html to Canvas, you will receive full credit.

welcome!

Purpose: this sequence of questions will help us understand your background and goals for the course so that we can tailor the material accordingly.

  1. Where are you at in your current program? (e.g. 3rd year PhD student in ECE), what were you doing before you enrolled in your current program, and what do you hope to do after you graduate?

  2. Why did you enroll in this course, what do you hope to learn, and how do you plan to apply what you’ve learned?

  3. What is your preferred toolkit for scientific computing? (e.g. Python, Julia, Matlab, Mathematica, …)

  4. What office hours (Instructor and/or TA) are you generally able to attend? (If none, what is your availability?)

  5. Log in to Canvas and edit your Profile. At a minimum, add a headshot photo and specify your preferred name and pronouns. Ideally, also add some details about your background and interests – see my example at https://canvas.uw.edu/about/3510568. (Note that this information is available to classmates and instructors in this and the other courses you’re enrolled in at UW; it is not publicly available.)

reading

Purpose: we will discuss this paper in class; that discussion, together with your responses below, will be used to steer lecture topics in the coming weeks.

  1. By the second lecture: read this survey paper: https://paperpile.com/shared/BHnJOI

  2. What ideas or concepts did you learn?

  3. What ideas or concepts were confusing / unclear / require further reading?

  4. Which (if any) of the ideas or concepts from (a.) and (b.) do you want to learn more about?

  5. Specify 1–3 citations from the paper that you want to learn more about.