ClassW04ApproxAlgs

Approximation Algorithms for Combinatorial Optimization (Winter 2004: CS260)

This is the bulletin board for the class, for class-related materials, discussions, questions, comments, etc. (See Usage.)

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Please feel free to add relevant content (comments, references, explanations) as you see fit.

• /BasicInfo - about the course; /Text - about the textbook
• /Glossary - basic terms, ApproxAlgsReferences - relevant texts, notes, on-line information sources

• /Students - pages for individual students
• /ProofsGroups - page for groups working on proofs and presentations of proofs

• Homeworks: /Hwk1, /Hwk2, /Hwk3, /Hwk4, /Hwk5

• Concepts, in order covered:
  • Background: [Johnson], Chapter 1 of text, KleinAndYoung
  • ChristofidesAlgorithm, SteinerTree, VertexCoverByMatching.?
  • LinearProgram, IntegerLinearProgram, Relaxation, VertexCoverByRounding, LPExamples.
  • LPDuality, VertexCoverByDuality.?
  • BasicProbability, RandomizedRounding, MaxSATByRandomizedRounding
  • ChernoffBound, load balancing example (section 4 of KleinAndYoung).
  • SemidefiniteProgramming, MaxCutBySemidefiniteProgramming
  • KnapsackByCoarsening
  • SetCoverByGreedy, MulticommodityFlowByLagrangianRelaxation
  • HardnessOfApproximation
  • SelfTestingCorrecting
  • WeakPCPTheorem

• Presentation schedule
  • /WojciechJawor (Feb 17) - Facility location (primal dual schema)
  • /SwastikKopparty (Feb 22) - Lovasz Theta Function, SDP
  • /KinFaiKan - Feb 24
  • /PriyaMandawat - Thursday, 26th Feb
  • /ZhengLiu - Approximation algorithms for NMR spectral peak assignment, Thursday, Feb 26th
  • /JieZheng? - Approximation of Minimum Common Partition, Mar. 2, Tue
  • /VarunKohli - K-center problem, 2nd March
  • /SerdarBozdag - March 4, Thu
  • /ZhengFu - Mixed Postman problem, March 4th, Thu
  • /QiFu - multiway cut, Mar. 9, Tue
  • /QiaofengYang - Bipartite sandwiches: bounding the size of a maximum biclique, Mar. 9 Tue

• Suggested papers for student presentations (add your own, too):
  • multiway cut, Chapter 4 of text and [Klein et al]
  • Euclidean TSP, Chapter 11 of text (hard)
  • applications in biology / bioinformatics (see [Shamir's course])
  • graph coloring by SDP, or MAX-2SAT by SDP
  • hardness of approximation examples (Chapter 29 in text, set cover - Feige)
  • Leighton/Rao? balanced separators (parts of Chapter 21 in text)
  • Facility location (Chapter 24 in text)
  • David Johnson's work on TSP
  • Bin Packing
  • ...
  • [Opportunities for Combinatorial Optimization in Computational Biology] (NEW)