Computational Assignment: You will be asked to write your own computer programs in C/C++/Java/Matlab/Python.  Computers are available in the MechE Computer Cluster (HH-C101) and other public computer clusters.
Individual Effort: The solutions to all the problem sets that you hand in should be generated by your individual effort.  It is ok to discuss the approach to problems with other students, but the submitted solutions, programs, and data files and computer codes must be your own work and should not be copied from someone else. 
Academic Integrity & Collaboration: Any act of cheating or plagiarism will be treated in accordance with Carnegie Mellon’s Policy on Academic Integrity, which can be found on the web at: http://www.cmu.edu/policies/student-and-student-life/academic-integrity.html.  Depending upon the individual violation, students could face penalties ranging from failing the assignment to failing the class.
Late Policy for Problem Sets:  25% off for one day, 50% off for two days, and no credit afterward.  For example, suppose that the due date is 5:00pm on Friday; you will lose 25% by handing it in Saturday afternoon and 50% Sunday afternoon.
No-penalty Late Days: Everyone is given four no-penalty late days. You may submit four Problem Sets one-day late with no late penalty, two Problem Sets two-days late, or one Problem Set one-day late and another Problem Set three-days late with no penalty. Just indicate on the cover page how many no-penalty late days you would like to use.  You may NOT use no-penalty late days for the project.

Project:  There will be a group project toward the end of the semester.

Late Policy for Project Reports:  No credit for late Project Reports. 

Hand-in Directory:  Hand in your work on problem sets to your hand-in BOX folder.  Problem sets are usually due at 5 PM on Friday.

Grade Correction: Please review your graded problem sets and quizzes right after they are returned to you to make sure that there is no error in grading.  If you find a grading error, you must let the instructor or one of the TAs know as soon as possible but no later than a week from the date your graded problem set or quiz is returned. The grade will not be corrected after one week.

Textbook Reading: Reading assignments may be given every week .  Check the schedule section regularly for each week's reading assignment.  

In-Class Assignments: During the lecture time, short (5-10min) in-class assignments will be given.  This allows you to reflect on what has been covered in the recent lectures and reading assignments and to check your understanding of the material.  It also gives the instructor a chance to detect and point out typical mistakes so you will be better prepared for quizzes.   The class participation credit will be given partly based on how many in-class assignments you submit. 

A missed quiz counts as zero credit unless you get permission in advance from the instructor.  If you are sick a note from the student health center is required.  A make-up quiz may not be of the same difficulty as the in-class quiz.   The instructor can also give an oral make-up quiz instead. 

Your final grade will be determined by an absolute method of grading.   This is to allow you to obtain a grade based on your individual performance without having to compete with others.  It is thus possible for the whole class to get an A grade or in the other case for the whole class to get a C grade.  (Of course we hope that you all will work hard and get an A!)  The final letter grade ranges are:  

A: 100-90%    B: 90-80%   C: 80-70%    D: 70-60%

The evaluation of your work in the course will be based on the following distribution:

• Schedule

4/7 (Wed) 5:00 PM: One-page proposal due

4/21 (Wed) 5:00 PM: Interim report due

5/4 (Tue) 3pm: Project presentation documents due

5/4 (Tue) and 5/6 (Thu): Project presentations

5/7 (Fri) 5:00 PM: Project final report due

• The project will count 14% of the total grade.  Please "design" the difficulty and scope of your project so that you will spend the time and effort that you would spend for approximately three Problem Sets.
• You can choose either a "Survey Project" or a "Programming Project."
  • In a Survey Project, you are asked to find at least 15 technical papers on your topic from conference proceedings and technical journals. Read these papers, summarize problems, categorize previously proposed approaches, discuss the pros and cons of each approach, give discussion and observation. and wrap up with future directions that you think might be promising.
  • In a Programming Project, you are asked to define a problem (just like in a Problem Set), write a code, show the results with several test cases, and wrap up with discussion and observation. Define your programming task so that the difficulty and the coverage of your project is appropriate, that is, approximately three times of programming assignments in Problem Sets.
• How you proceed:

Step 1: Think about topics related to CAD that you are interested in. Find two other students who share similar interests.

Step 2: Choose the type of your project, Survey Project or Programming Project.

Step 3: Write and hand in a one-page proposal (Due: 4/7 (Wed) 5:00 PM). This is to give the instructor a chance to offer you feedback on your topic if it seems too easy or too tough. (You can later change the description of the proposal with the permission from the instructor.) Include the following items in your proposal.

Group name

Member names

Project Title

Project Type: "Survey" or "Programming"

Mission Statement: Describe the goal and coverage of your project.

Background Information: Explain why your team is interested in this problem. Also give some background, for example, if this is a part of one of the members' senior project, MS project, or Ph.D. project.

Step 4: Work hard for a couple of weeks and submit an interim report as a PowerPoint file, or a PDF file, by 4/21 (Wed) 5:00PM.  Create under your team's hand-in BOX directory and upload the interim report and other files that show the progress of your team's work.  

Step 5: Work on the project presentation files and the final report.  You may submit as many files (stl, wrl, images, and video files) as you like in your project directory. Your presentation and final report should include the following information:

Survey Project: problem summary, classification of previous approaches, discussion of pros and cons of each approach, discussion and observation, and a list of the references. Also hand in one copy of all the reference papers.

Programming Project: problem summary, description of your algorithms, results of some test cases, and discussion and observation. Hand in your source code.  

Step 6: Project Presentation: 5/4 (Tue) and 5/6 (Thu). Each team has 15 minutes to present its project and answer questions. Hand in all of your project presentation files by 5/4 (Tue) 3pm.

Step 7: Submit the final project report by 5/7 (Fri) 5:00PM.