Lectures: Tue,
Thu
2:30 to 3:50 pm, Room:
MC 4064
Office hours: by
appointment
Lecture Schedule | Homework | Suggested Reading / References |
Projects |
Announcements
August 6: Links to the student projects are now up on the Projects page.
Past announcements available here.
Instructor
Ashwin Nayak
C&O and IQC, U. Waterloo,
and Perimeter Institute.
Contact information: here.
Outline
In this graduate level course, we will visit results in (classical) theoretical computer science that have benefited from ideas from quantum computation. Along the way, we will take a peek at the quantum origins of these ideas. Results of this nature include:
Prerequisites: We assume knowledge of basic linear algebra,
theoretical computer science. The material in a first course
in quantum computation, such as CO 681,
Introduction to Quantum Information Processing would be helpful. New
concepts and results from quantum computing may be introduced along the
way. Students are expected to show a fair bit of mathematical maturity.
Evaluation
The final mark in the course will be based on homeworks, and a term project. The weight given to the different components is
Homework
There will be three graded homework assignments. The homeworks will be posted here, and will be due generally after two--three weeks. Please drop off the homework as per the instructions therein.
Each assignment consists of several questions. You are expected to attempt all of them. You should be able to solve most of the problems in the homework on your own if you have understood the lectures. However you can expect an odd question that will require additional thought. You may work on the homework in small groups (and are encouraged to do so, in case of difficulty). You may also consult us. However, you should write up the solutions on your own and mention all sources of help.
Term project
This will consist of the creation of a Wikipedia page on a topic related to the course. In addition, you will be required to make a short presentation to the class. You may learn how to edit Wikipedia pages from their tutorial, and especially including math formulae from free online books. I also recommend that you review examples of good mathematical writing at the Wikipedia site. The deadline for the project is July 31, 2009. Please send the instructor the link to the page(s) you created by email.