Courses 2023-24

A course on computer programming emphasizing the program design process and pragmatic programming skills. It will use the Python programming language and will not assume previous programming experience. Material covered will include data types, variables, assignment, control structures, functions, scoping, compound data, string processing, modules, basic input/output (terminal and file), as well as more advanced topics such as recursion, exception handling and object-oriented programming. Program development and maintenance skills including debugging, testing, and documentation will also be taught. Assignments will include problems drawn from fields such as graphics, numerics, networking, and games. At the end of the course, students will be ready to learn other programming languages in courses such as CS 11, and will also be ready to take more in-depth courses such as CS 2 and CS 4.

Students must be placed into this course via the CS placement test. An intermediate course on computer programming emphasizing the program design process and pragmatic programming skills. It will use the Java programming language and will assume previous programming experience such as an AP CS A course. Material will focus on more advanced topics such as recursion, exception handling and object-oriented programming. Program development and maintenance skills including debugging, testing, and documentation will also be taught. Assignments will include problems drawn from fields such as graphics, numerics, networking, and games. At the end of the course, students will be ready to learn other programming languages in courses such as CS 11, and will also be ready to take more in-depth courses such as CS 2 and CS 4

CS 2 is a demanding course in programming languages and computer science. Topics covered include data structures, including lists, trees, and graphs; implementation and performance analysis of fundamental algorithms; algorithm design principles, in particular recursion and dynamic programming; Heavy emphasis is placed on the use of compiled languages and development tools, including source control and debugging. The course includes weekly laboratory exercises and projects covering the lecture material and program design. The course is intended to establish a foundation for further work in many topics in the computer science option.

This course gives students the conceptual background necessary to construct and analyze programs, which includes specifying computations, understanding evaluation models, and using major programming language constructs (functions and procedures, conditionals, recursion and looping, scoping and environments, compound data, side effects, higher-order functions and functional programming, and object-oriented programming). It emphasizes key issues that arise in programming and in computation in general, including time and space complexity, choice of data representation, and abstraction management. This course is intended for students with some programming background who want a deeper understanding of the conceptual issues involved in computer programming.

This course will introduce students to research areas in CS through weekly overview talks by Caltech faculty and aimed at first-year undergraduates. More senior students may wish to take the course to gain an understanding of the scope of research in computer science. Graded pass/fail.

This course is intended to give the student a basic understanding of the major hardware and software principles involved in the specification and design of embedded systems. The course will cover basic digital logic, programmable logic devices, CPU and embedded system architecture, and embedded systems programming principles (interfacing to hardware, events, user interfaces, and multi-tasking).

A self-paced lab that provides students with extra practice and supervision in transferring their programming skills to a particular programming language. The course can be used for any language of the student's choosing, subject to approval by the instructor. A series of exercises guide students through the pragmatic use of the chosen language, building their familiarity, experience, and style. More advanced students may propose their own programming project as the target demonstration of their new language skills. This course is available for undergraduate students only. Graduate students should register for CS 111. CS 11 may be repeated for credit of up to a total of nine units.

Each section covers a topic in computing with associated sets or projects. Sections are designed and taught by an undergraduate student under the supervision of a CMS faculty member. CS 12 may be repeated for credit of up to a total of nine units.

This course will introduce students to CS in industry through weekly overview talks by alums and engineers in industry. It is aimed at first and second year undergraduates. Others may wish to take the course to gain an understanding of the scope of computer science in industry. Additionally students will complete short weekly assignments aimed at preparing them for interactions with industry. Graded pass/fail. Part b not offered 2023-24.

This course introduces the formal foundations of computer science, the fundamental limits of computation, and the limits of efficient computation. Topics will include automata and Turing machines, decidability and undecidability, reductions between computational problems, and the theory of NP-completeness.

Basic introduction to computer systems, including hardware-software interface, computer architecture, and operating systems. Course emphasizes computer system abstractions and the hardware and software techniques necessary to support them, including virtualization (e.g., memory, processing, communication), dynamic resource management, and common-case optimization, isolation, and naming.

This course introduces techniques for the design and analysis of efficient algorithms. Major design techniques (the greedy approach, divide and conquer, dynamic programming, linear programming) will be introduced through a variety of algebraic, graph, and optimization problems. Methods for identifying intractability (via NP-completeness) will be discussed.

This course will focus on computer science education in K-14 settings. Students will gain an understanding of the current state of computer science education within the United States, develop curricula targeted at students from diverse backgrounds, and gain hands on teaching experience. Through readings from educational psychology and neuropsychology, students will become familiar with various pedagogical methods and theories of learning, while applying these in practice as part of a teaching group partnered with a local school or community college. Each week students are expected to spend about 2 hours teaching, 2 hours developing curricula, and 2 hours on readings and individual exercises. Pass/Fail only. May not be repeated.

This course presents the fundamentals of modern multidisciplinary systems engineering in the context of a substantial design project. Students from a variety of disciplines will conceive, design, implement, and operate a system involving electrical, information, and mechanical engineering components. Specific tools will be provided for setting project goals and objectives, managing interfaces between component subsystems, working in design teams, and tracking progress against tasks. Students will be expected to apply knowledge from other courses at Caltech in designing and implementing specific subsystems. During the first two terms of the course, students will attend project meetings and learn some basic tools for project design, while taking courses in CS, EE, and ME that are related to the course project. During the third term, the entire team will build, document, and demonstrate the course design project, which will differ from year to year. First-year undergraduate students must receive permission from the lead instructor to enroll.

Individual research project, carried out under the supervision of a member of the computer science faculty (or other faculty as approved by the computer science undergraduate option representative). Projects must include significant design effort. Written report required. Open only to upperclass students. Not offered on a pass/fail basis.

Supervised research or development in computer science by undergraduates. The topic must be approved by the project supervisor, and a formal final report must be presented on completion of research. This course can (with approval) be used to satisfy the project requirement for the CS major. Graded pass/fail.

Supervised reading in computer science by undergraduates. The topic must be approved by the reading supervisor, and a formal final report must be presented on completion of the term. Graded pass/fail.

The topics covered vary from year to year, depending on the students and staff. Primarily for undergraduates.

Instructor's permission required.

Instructor's permission required.

An examination of theories of causation and explanation in philosophy and neighboring disciplines. Topics discussed may include probabilistic and counterfactual treatments of causation, the role of statistical evidence and experimentation in causal inference, and the deductive-nomological model of explanation. The treatment of these topics by important figures from the history of philosophy such as Aristotle, Descartes, and Hume may also be considered.

A self-paced lab that provides students with extra practice and supervision in transferring their programming skills to a particular programming language. The course can be used for any language of the student's choosing, subject to approval by the instructor. A series of exercises guide the student through the pragmatic use of the chosen language, building their familiarity, experience, and style. More advanced students may propose their own programming project as the target demonstration of their new language skills. This course is available for graduate students only. CS 111 may be repeated for credit of up to a total of nine units. Undergraduates should register for CS 11.

This course provides an introduction to Bayesian Statistics and its applications to data analysis in various fields. Topics include: discrete models, regression models, hierarchical models, model comparison, and MCMC methods. The course combines an introduction to basic theory with a hands-on emphasis on learning how to use these methods in practice so that students can apply them in their own work. Previous familiarity with frequentist statistics is useful but not required.

This course is a both a theoretical and practical introduction to functional programming, a paradigm which allows programmers to work at an extremely high level of abstraction while simultaneously avoiding large classes of bugs that plague more conventional imperative and object-oriented languages. The course will introduce and use the lazy functional language Haskell exclusively. Topics include: recursion, first-class functions, higher-order functions, algebraic data types, polymorphic types, function composition, point-free style, proving functions correct, lazy evaluation, pattern matching, lexical scoping, type classes, and modules. Some advanced topics such as monad transformers, parser combinators, dynamic typing, and existential types are also covered.

An introduction to the use of automata theory in the formal analysis of both concurrent and sequentially executing software systems. The course covers the use of logic model checking with linear temporal logic and interactive techniques for property-based static source code analysis.

Advanced digital design as it applies to the design of systems using PLDs and ASICs (in particular, gate arrays and standard cells). The course covers both design and implementation details of various systems and logic device technologies. The emphasis is on the practical aspects of ASIC design, such as timing, testing, and fault grading. Topics include synchronous design, state machine design, arithmetic circuit design, application-specific parallel computer design, design for testability, CPLDs, FPGAs, VHDL, standard cells, timing analysis, fault vectors, and fault grading. Students are expected to design and implement both systems discussed in the class as well as self-proposed systems using a variety of technologies and tools. Given in alternate years; Not offered 2023-24.

Introduction to the basic theory and usage of relational database systems. It covers the relational data model, relational algebra, and the Structured Query Language (SQL). The course introduces the basics of database schema design and covers the entity-relationship model, functional dependency analysis, and normal forms. Additional topics include other query languages based on the relational calculi, data-warehousing and dimensional analysis, writing and using stored procedures, working with hierarchies and graphs within relational databases, and an overview of transaction processing and query evaluation. Extensive hands-on work with SQL databases.

This course explores the major themes and components of modern operating systems, such as kernel architectures, the process abstraction and process scheduling, system calls, concurrency within the OS, virtual memory management, and file systems. Students must work in groups to complete a series of challenging programming projects, implementing major components of an instructional operating system. Most programming is in C, although some IA32 assembly language programming is also necessary. Familiarity with the material in CS 24 is strongly advised before attempting this course.

Study of programmable logic devices (FPGAs). Detailed study of the VHDL language, accompanied by tutorials of popular synthesis and simulation tools. Review of combinational circuits (both logic and arithmetic), followed by VHDL code for combinational circuits and corresponding FPGA-implemented designs. Review of sequential circuits, followed by VHDL code for sequential circuits and corresponding FPGA-implemented designs. Review of finite state machines, followed by VHDL code for state machines and corresponding FPGA-implemented designs. Final project. The course includes a wide selection of real-world projects, implemented and tested using FPGA boards. Not offered 2023-24.

Shannon's mathematical theory of communication, 1948-present. Entropy, relative entropy, and mutual information for discrete and continuous random variables. Shannon's source and channel coding theorems. Mathematical models for information sources and communication channels, including memoryless, Markov, ergodic, and Gaussian. Calculation of capacity and rate-distortion functions. Universal source codes. Side information in source coding and communications. Network information theory, including multiuser data compression, multiple access channels, broadcast channels, and multiterminal networks. Discussion of philosophical and practical implications of the theory. This course, when combined with EE 112, EE/Ma/CS/IDS 127, EE/CS 161, and EE/CS/IDS 167, should prepare the student for research in information theory, coding theory, wireless communications, and/or data compression.

This course introduces students to the modern practice of interactive tactic-based theorem proving using the Coq theorem prover. Topics will be drawn from logic, programming languages and the theory of computation. Topics will include: proof by induction, lists, higher-order functions, polymorphism, dependently-typed functional programming, constructive logic, the Curry-Howard correspondence, modeling imperative programs, and other topics if time permits. Students will be graded partially on attendance and will be expected to participate in proving theorems in class.

This course presents a survey of software engineering principles relevant to all aspects of the software development lifecycle. Students will examine industry best practices in the areas of software specification, development, project management, testing, and release management, including a review of the relevant research literature. Assignments give students the opportunity to explore these topics in depth. Programming assignments use Python and Git, and students should be familiar with Python at a CS 1 level, and Git at a CS 2/CS 3 level, before taking the course.

CS 131 is a course on programming languages and their implementation. It teaches students how to program in a number of simplified languages representing the major programming paradigms in use today (imperative, object-oriented, and functional). It will also teach students how to build and modify the implementations of these languages. Emphasis will not be on syntax or parsing but on the essential differences in these languages and their implementations. Both dynamically-typed and statically-typed languages will be implemented. Relevant theory will be covered as needed. Implementations will mostly be interpreters, but some features of compilers will be covered if time permits. Enrollment limited to 30 students.

Covers full-stack web development with HTML5, CSS, client-side JS (ES6) and server-side JS (Node.js/Express) for web API development. Concepts including separation of concerns, the client-server relationship, user experience, accessibility, and security will also be emphasized throughout the course. Assignments will alternate between formal and semi-structured student-driven projects, providing students various opportunities to apply material to their individual interests. No prior web development background is required, though students who have prior experience may still benefit from learning best practices and HTML5/ES6 standards.

The course develops the core concepts of robotics. The first quarter focuses on classical robotic manipulation, including topics in rigid body kinematics and dynamics. It develops planar and 3D kinematic formulations and algorithms for forward and inverse computations, Jacobians, and manipulability. The second quarter transitions to planning, navigation, and perception. Topics include configuration space, sample-based planners, A* and D* algorithms, to achieve collision-free motions. Course work transitions from homework and programming assignments to more open-ended team-based projects.

This course builds up, and brings to practice, the elements of robotic systems at the intersection of hardware, kinematics and control, computer vision, and autonomous behaviors. It presents selected topics from these domains, focusing on their integration into a full sense-think-act robot. The lectures will drive team-based projects, progressing from building custom robotic arms (5 to 7 degrees of freedom) to writing all necessary software (utilizing the Robotics Operating system, ROS). Teams are required to implement and customize general concepts for their selected tasks. Working systems will autonomously operate and demonstrate their capabilities during final presentations.

We are at the beginning of a historic transformation to decarbonize our energy system. This course introduces the basics of power systems analysis: phasor representation, 3-phase transmission system, transmission line models, transformer models, per-unit analysis, network matrix, power flow equations, power flow algorithms, optimal powerflow (OPF) problems, unbalanced power flow analysis and optimization,swing dynamics and stability.

This course introduces algorithms in the context of their usage in the real world. The course covers compression, semi-numerical algorithms, RSA cryptography, parsing, and string matching. The goal of the course is for students to see how to use theoretical algorithms in real-world contexts, focusing both on correctness and the nitty-gritty details and optimizations. Students will choose to implement projects based on depth in an area or breadth to cover all the topics.

This course is identical to CS 38. Only graduate students for whom this is the first algorithms course are allowed to register for CS 138. See the CS 38 entry for prerequisites and course description.

This course develops core principles for the analysis and design of algorithms. Basic material includes mathematical techniques for analyzing performance in terms of resources, such as time, space, and randomness. The course introduces the major paradigms for algorithm design, including greedy methods, divide-and-conquer, dynamic programming, linear and semidefinite programming, randomized algorithms, and online learning.

Students are expected to execute a substantial project in networking, write up a report describing their work, and make a presentation.

This is a research-oriented course meant for undergraduates and beginning graduate students who want to learn about current research topics in networks such as the Internet, power networks, social networks, etc. The topics covered in the course will vary, but will be pulled from current research in the design, analysis, control, and optimization of networks.

This course will equip students to engage with active research at the intersection of social and information sciences, including: algorithmic game theory and mechanism design; auctions; matching markets; and learning in games.

May be repeated for credit, with permission of the instructor. Students in this course will study an area of current interest in theoretical computer science. The lectures will cover relevant background material at an advanced level and present results from selected recent papers within that year's chosen theme. Students will be expected to read and present a research paper.

Introduction to the theory, algorithms, and applications of automated learning. How much information is needed to learn a task, how much computation is involved, and how it can be accomplished. Special emphasis will be given to unifying the different approaches to the subject coming from statistics, function approximation, optimization, pattern recognition, and neural networks.

Statistical Inference is a branch of mathematical engineering that studies ways of extracting reliable information from limited data for learning, prediction, and decision making in the presence of uncertainty. This is an introductory course on statistical inference. The main goals are: develop statistical thinking and intuitive feel for the subject; introduce the most fundamental ideas, concepts, and methods of statistical inference; and explain how and why they work, and when they don't. Topics covered include summarizing data, fundamentals of survey sampling, statistical functionals, jackknife, bootstrap, methods of moments and maximum likelihood, hypothesis testing, p-values, the Wald, Student's t-, permutation, and likelihood ratio tests, multiple testing, scatterplots, simple linear regression, ordinary least squares, interval estimation, prediction, graphical residual analysis.

This course focuses on current topics in machine learning research. This is a paper reading course, and students are expected to understand material directly from research articles. Students are also expected to present in class, and to do a final project.

Basics of information theory: entropy, mutual information, source and channel coding theorems. Basics of coding theory: error-correcting codes for information transmission and storage, block codes, algebraic codes, sparse graph codes. Basics of digital communications: sampling, quantization, digital modulation, matched filters, equalization.

This course examines algorithms and data practices in fields such as machine learning, privacy, and communication networks through a social lens. We will draw upon theory and practices from art, media, computer science and technology studies to critically analyze algorithms and their implementations within society. The course includes projects, lectures, readings, and discussions. Students will learn mathematical formalisms, critical thinking and creative problem solving to connect algorithms to their practical implementations within social, cultural, economic, legal and political contexts. Enrollment by application. Taught concurrently with VC 72 and can only be taken once as CS/IDS 162 or VC 72.

This course covers the construction of compilers: programs which convert program source code to machine code which is directly executable on modern hardware. The course takes a bottom-up approach: a series of compilers will be built, all of which generate assembly code for x86 processors, with each compiler adding features. The final compiler will compile a full-fledged high-level programming language to assembly language. Topics covered include register allocation, conditionals, loops and dataflow analysis, garbage collection, lexical scoping, and type checking. This course is programming intensive. All compilers will be written in the OCaml programming language.

The course assumes students are comfortable with analysis, probability, statistics, and basic programming. This course will cover core concepts in machine learning and statistical inference. The ML concepts covered are spectral methods (matrices and tensors), non-convex optimization, probabilistic models, neural networks, representation theory, and generalization. In statistical inference, the topics covered are detection and estimation, sufficient statistics, Cramer-Rao bounds, Rao-Blackwell theory, variational inference, and multiple testing. In addition to covering the core concepts, the course encourages students to ask critical questions such as: How relevant is theory in the age of deep learning? What are the outstanding open problems? Assignments will include exploring failure modes of popular algorithms, in addition to traditional problem-solving type questions.

Computational cameras overcome the limitations of traditional cameras, by moving part of the image formation process from hardware to software. In this course, we will study this emerging multi-disciplinary field at the intersection of signal processing, applied optics, computer graphics, and vision. At the start of the course, we will study modern image processing and image editing pipelines, including those encountered on DSLR cameras and mobile phones. Then we will study the physical and computational aspects of tasks such as coded photography, light-field imaging, astronomical imaging, medical imaging, and time-of-flight cameras. The course has a strong hands-on component, in the form of homework assignments and a final project. In the homework assignments, students will have the opportunity to implement many of the techniques covered in the class. Example homework assignments include building an end-to-end HDR (High Dynamic Range) imaging pipeline, implementing Poisson image editing, refocusing a light-field image, and making your own lensless "scotch-tape" camera.

Mobile robots need to perceive their environment and localize themselves with respect to maps thereof. They further require planners to move along collision-free paths. This course builds up mobile robots in team-based projects. Teams will write all necessary software from low-level hardware I/O to high level algorithms, using the robotic operating system (ROS). The final systems will autonomously maneuver to reach their goals or track various objectives.

This is a challenging course that introduces the basic ideas behind computer graphics and some of its fundamental algorithms. Topics include graphics input and output, the graphics pipeline, sampling and image manipulation, three-dimensional transformations and interactive modeling, basics of physically based modeling and animation, simple shading models and their hardware implementation, and some of the fundamental algorithms of scientific visualization. Students will be required to perform significant implementations.

Working knowledge of multivariate calculus and linear algebra as well as fluency in some implementation language is expected. Subject matter covered: differential geometry of curves and surfaces, classical exterior calculus, discrete exterior calculus, sampling and reconstruction of differential forms, low dimensional algebraic and computational topology, Morse theory, Noether's theorem, Helmholtz-Hodge decomposition, structure preserving time integration, connections and their curvatures on complex line bundles. Applications include elastica and rods, surface parameterization, conformal surface deformations, computation of geodesics, tangent vector field design, connections, discrete thin shells, fluids, electromagnetism, and elasticity. Part b not offered 2023-24.

Some experience with computer graphics algorithms preferred. The use of Graphics Processing Units for computer graphics rendering is well known, but their power for general parallel computation is only recently being explored. Parallel algorithms running on GPUs can often achieve up to 100x speedup over similar CPU algorithms. This course covers programming techniques for the Graphics processing unit, focusing on visualization and simulation of various systems. Labs will cover specific applications in graphics, mechanics, and signal processing. The course will use nVidia's parallel computing architecture, CUDA. Labwork requires extensive programming.

Biology is becoming an increasingly data-intensive science. Many of the data challenges in the biological sciences are distinct from other scientific disciplines because of the complexity involved. This course will introduce key computational, probabilistic, and statistical methods that are common in computational biology and bioinformatics. We will integrate these theoretical aspects to discuss solutions to common challenges that reoccur throughout bioinformatics including algorithms and heuristics for tackling DNA sequence alignments, phylogenetic reconstructions, evolutionary analysis, and population and human genetics. We will discuss these topics in conjunction with common applications including the analysis of high throughput DNA sequencing data sets and analysis of gene expression from RNA-Seq data sets.

Lecture, laboratory, and project course aimed at understanding visual information processing, in both machines and the mammalian visual system. The course will emphasize an interdisciplinary approach aimed at understanding vision at several levels: computational theory, algorithms, psychophysics, and hardware (i.e., neuroanatomy and neurophysiology of the mammalian visual system). The course will focus on early vision processes, in particular motion analysis, binocular stereo, brightness, color and texture analysis, visual attention and boundary detection. Students will be required to hand in approximately three homework assignments as well as complete one project integrating aspects of mathematical analysis, modeling, physiology, psychophysics, and engineering. Given in alternate years; offered 2023-24.

This course investigates computation by molecular systems, emphasizing models of computation based on the underlying physics, chemistry, and organization of biological cells. We will explore programmability, complexity, simulation of, and reasoning about abstract models of chemical reaction networks, molecular folding, molecular self-assembly, and molecular motors, with an emphasis on universal architectures for computation, control, and construction within molecular systems. If time permits, we will also discuss biological example systems such as signal transduction, genetic regulatory networks, and the cytoskeleton; physical limits of computation, reversibility, reliability, and the role of noise, DNA-based computers and DNA nanotechnology. Part a develops fundamental results; part b is a reading and research course: classic and current papers will be discussed, and students will do projects on current research topics.

The theory of quantum information and quantum computation. Overview of classical information theory, compression of quantum information, transmission of quantum information through noisy channels, quantum error-correcting codes, quantum cryptography and teleportation. Overview of classical complexity theory, quantum complexity, efficient quantum algorithms, fault-tolerant quantum computation, physical implementations of quantum computation.

Approval of student's research adviser and option adviser must be obtained before registering.

Instructor's permission required.

Instructor's permission required.