Email: kirk@cs.pitt.edu
Phone : 412-624-8844
This will be an intermediate level graduate course on Approximation Algorithms. In general, the area of approximation algorithms deals with finding efficient algorithms for NP-hard problems that have known worst case performance guarantees. We will concentrate algorithms and analysis based on mathematical programming techniques.
Course Text
We will rather closely follow selected portions of the excellent text
authored by David Shmoys and David Williamson. The text is
downloadable from the web site.
Course Format
The instructor will present the initial
lectures covering section I of the text. Each student will then lecture
on either one of the subsequent chapters. There will be a quite modest
homework load.
Prerequisites
The ideal background would include an introductory algorithms course such as CS 2150 and an introductory course on mathematical/linear programming (many of algorithms covered in the text use techniques normally covered in an introductory linear programming course). However, the official prerequisite is either an introductory algorithms course or an introductory course on linear programming.
Tentative Schedule