ECE 490Introduction to Optimization

Textbooks and references

Official textbook (not required for class)

• Dimitri P. Bertsekas, Nonlinear Programming, 3rd ed., Athena Scientific, 2016.

Primary references (free access to PDF):

• Stephen Boyd and Lieven Vandenberghe, Convex Optimization, Cambridge University Press, 2004.

• Jorge Nocedal and Stephen J. Wright, Numerical Optimization, 2nd ed., Springer, 2006.

Grading, Homework, Quiz

• 0% - Biweekly homework
• 50% - Biweekly quizzes (top 5 out of 6 scores)
• 25% - Midterm exam
• 25% - Final exam

Each quiz contains 4 problems sampled from homework, only 3 of which must be completed.

Quizzes last 50 minutes, and are held in class approximately biweekly on Tuesdays. The first 30 minutes of class before quiz will be used for pre-quiz review.

Lowest quiz score is dropped to accommodate travel, etc. It is in your interest to attend all quizzes due to make-up policy below.

Three-credit vs four-credit sections

Many HW problems have parts marked (G). These are optional extensions for 3-credit students and required material for 4-credit students.

All quizzes and exams will have one part that is taken from (G).

• 3 credit student may ignore this part and earn 100%, or attempt it to earn bonus. Scores will be capped at 100%.
• 4 credit student must attempt this part to earn 100%. Their lowest-scoring other part will be dropped, but the (G) part will never be dropped.

Example quiz

Let P1, P2, P3, P4 denote the normalized score from 0 to 1.

• 3-credit score: min( P1*34 + P2*33 + P3*33, 100)
• 4-credit score: max( P1, P2)*67 + P3*33

Missed assessments

Exceptional circumstances may necessitate make-up quiz or exam. The reasoning must be consistent with the student code.

Makeup quiz requests will only be considered after a student has been absent for one quiz. If a student has not been absent for a quiz, then the makeup request will be automatically declined.

The student must contact course staff with timestamp no later than 7 days (168 hours, 0 minutes, 0 seconds) before the starting time of the quiz or exam to inquire about make-up assessments.

AI policy

AI tools are strongly encouraged for studying and for working through the ungraded homework. Useful ways to use AI include:

• asking for a different explanation of a theorem or proof;
• requesting a hint when stuck;
• asking AI to identify a gap in an argument;
• checking algebra or intermediate calculations;
• asking why a proposed proof is invalid;
• generating additional problems equivalent to a homework problem;
• asking for a complete solution and then working backward until every step can be reproduced independently.

Illinois students have access to Google Gemini through their University Google accounts. Illinois Google Gemini information

AI systems can make mathematical mistakes. Students remain responsible for checking AI output.

AI may not be used during any quiz or examination.

University policies

Disability-related accommodations

The University provides reasonable academic accommodations to students with disabilities through Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES). Students seeking accommodations should register with DRES and provide their Letter of Academic Accommodations to the instructor as early as possible.

Approved accommodations will be implemented in accordance with Student Code § 1-110. Student Code § 1-110 — Disability accommodations

Religious observances

The University will reasonably accommodate religious beliefs, observances, and practices that conflict with class attendance, quizzes, examinations, or other course requirements.

Students should request accommodation sufficiently far in advance to allow alternate arrangements to be made. See Student Code § 1-107. Student Code § 1-107 — Religious accommodations

Emergency response

Students should familiarize themselves with University emergency procedures and with the evacuation and shelter procedures for ECEB. Instructions from University and emergency personnel should be followed during an emergency.

Other University policies

All applicable University of Illinois policies remain in effect, including policies concerning student privacy, nondiscrimination, community standards, sexual misconduct, student well-being, and military or veteran obligations. Students should consult the current University of Illinois Student Code for the governing policies and procedures.