Probability and Algorithms, Caltech CS150, Winter 2008

Leonard J. Schulman

Office hours by appointment.
TA: Dave Buchfuhrer
Lectures: TR 1:00-2:30. Location: 262 Jorgensen.

Catalog listing:

Elementary randomized algorithms and algebraic bounds in communication, hashing, and identity testing. Game tree evaluation. Topics may include randomized parallel computation; independence, k-wise independence and derandomization; rapidly mixing Markov chains; expander graphs and their applications; clustering algorithms.

The course this quarter will emphasize the probabilistic method.

Some useful books:

  1. Alon & Spencer, The Probabilistic Method (reserve, SFL)
  2. Motwani & Raghavan, Randomized Algorithms, Cambridge 1995 (reserve, SFL)
  3. Mitzenmacher & Upfal, Probability and Computing, Cambridge 2005 (reserve, SFL)
  4. Adams and Guillemin, Measure theory and probability
  5. Feller, Probability Theory
  6. Cover & Thomas, Information Theory
  7. Grimmett & Stirzaker, Probability and Random Processes.
  8. Artin, Algebra
  9. Herstein, Topics in Algebra
Problem sets: #1 due January 24, #2 due February 7, #3 due February 21, #4 due March 6.