MS 395 - CS 360 - Graph Theory

Professor: Erich Friedman

About the course:

We will meet MWF at 9:00 in Flagler 313. We will loosely follow the text, Introduction to Graph Theory by Robin Wilson. This course is a survey of graph theory, a field that overlaps both mathematics and computer science. We will learn what graphs are and how they can be used to solve a variety of problems in diverse fields. The mathematical part of this course will involve classifying graphs in several ways, and proving our results. The computer science part of this course will involve studying how graphs can be represented by a computer, and finding algorithms to perform interesting calculations on them.

About me:

My e-mail address is erich.friedman@stetson.edu. My web page can be found at http://www.stetson.edu/~efriedma/. My office is Elizabeth 214-2. My office hours this semester are:

This means that I am always in my office during these times, and you can drop by without an appointment. If you cannot make my regularly scheduled hours, let me know and we can set up another time to talk. Please come by if you need help, or if you just want to chat. You will soon see that my lecture style is informal. I will be calling you by your first name (or a nickname if you prefer), so please call me Erich.

About you:

This course contains lots of proofs and algorithms, so you should have taken either MS 255 or CS 211. You need to be familiar with the usual proof techniques, especially induction, and you should be able to write a coherant logical argument. Attendance in this class is not mandatory. But it will be very hard for you to learn this material on your own if you do not come to class, as not everything we cover is in the book. Please be respectful of both me and your classmates. This means coming to class on time and not socializing in class. Cheating will not be tolerated.

About the math department:

I am usually available to answer your questions, but the math department offers several additional ways to get help. Much of the day, free math tutors can be found in the math office, Elizabeth 211. Also, the math secretary has a list of paid tutors available at other times. There is also a math clinic which runs every Monday through Thursday from 6:00 to 9:00 pm in Elizabeth 209. You should be warned that not all the tutors in the math lab will know this material, but several are willing to learn it. Please seek help as soon as you fall behind.

About your grade:

Homework is assigned nightly, from worksheets handed out the first day of class. The homework will be collected, graded, and returned promptly. I will not grade every problem on every assignment, but what I will grade will be a surprise. We will also spend a lot of class time answering questions. I encourage you to work together on the homework problems, as long as you make sure you can do them yourself when I ask you to. Homework is worth 1/8 of your grade.

Tests will be given on the 4 dates announced on the syllabus. Please check your schedule now to see if there are conflicts. I do not like to give make-up tests -- miss a test at your own risk. You will not need a calculator, or anything else for the tests. Each test is worth 1/8 of your grade.

Oral Presentations on graph theory topics of your choosing will occur near the end of the course. You are allowed to work in pairs, and you should plan on 40 minutes of presentation. You should also make up a short homework assignment reviewing that material, and be prepared to answer questions on it during the next class. Note that you will be tested on all the presentations. Your presentation, as graded by me and the class, will be worth 1/8 of your grade.

The Final Exam is a comprehensive take-home exam and is worth 1/4 of your grade.