Logistics

Contents

• Course material
• Teaching staff and office hours
• Assignments
• Homework
• Lab Sections
• Grading
• Cooperation

Course material

• LECTURES: Lectures form THE most important component of this course. Traditionally, the lectures have been based on the textbook and the contents of the Ptolemy course Web site (see below). However, we are in the processing of upgrading EECS 20N; accordingly, we will frequently introduce subject matter that is either not in the textbook or is covered in a different manner or with a different flavor. It is essential that you attend all the lectures. The weekly problem sets, the quizzes, and the exams will almost certainly expose absenteeism.

  This spring, the lectures will be Webcast (with a deliberately instituted delay to discourage lecture absenteeism).

  • Fall 2007 Lectures
  • Spring 2007 Lectures
  • Fall 2006 Lectures
  • Spring 2006 Lectures
  • Fall 2005 Lectures
  • Fall 2004 Lectures

• Problem/Discussion Sessions (Discussion Hours)
• Lab sections
• The Ptolemy Web site: http://ptolemy.eecs.berkeley.edu/eecs20
The Web pages contain a wealth of goodies, including Java applets illustrating many of the concepts discussed in lectures or in the textbook; exams and their solutions from previous semesters; potentially useful links; etc. You should make a point of navigating around the site and making use of its contents.
• bSpace http://bspace.berkeley.edu/
Log in using your CalNet ID and passphrase. If you do not see the EECS 20N tab appear after you log in, contact us immediately. When you contact us, you need to give us some critical information, such as the full spelling of your name AND your UID (not to be confused with your student ID). To find your UID, visit the UC Berkeley Directory. Lookup your name and make a note of the UID which appears in the top-right corner of the search result corresponding to your name. We need this number to add you to the bSpace access list.
• Textbook: Lee and Varaiya, Structure and Interpretation of Signals and Systems, Addison-Wesley, 2003.

Teaching Staff

• Babak Ayazifar (ayazifar@eecs); Office hours: Thu 5pm-7pm; Location: 521 Cory Hall (Private appointments in 493 Cory).

• George Chen: georgechen@berkeley
• Arash Parsa: arashparsa@berkeley
• Christine Avanessians: cavanessians@berkeley
• Pamela Lee: pam_lee@berkeley
• Ali Ghazizadeh: alighazizadeh@berkeley
• Suman Ravuri: ravuri@eecs (Head TA)
• S. Mohammad Ziaemohseni: z_mohseni@berkeley

For the entire three-hour lab session, the TAs are available to assist you with homework, lecture material, lab material, or other course-related issues.

Please see the GSI holding the unenviable title, "Grader/Reader Coordinator," if you have questions or concerns about homework, lab, or exam grading.

Assignments

• Reading
• Homework
• Lab reports
• Four Midterms: All midterms are during the lecture period and in our assigned lecture hall, and are scheduled as follows:
  
  • MIDTERM 1: Week before Drop Day
    Closed book/notes. ONE 8.5-by-11 inch sheet of hand-written notes (both sides) is allowed for Midterm 1. No computing device.
  • MIDTERM 2: TBA
    Closed book/notes. TWO 8.5-by-11 inch sheets of hand-written notes (both sides) are allowed for Midterm 2. No computing device.
  • MIDTERM 3: TBA
    Closed book/notes. THREE 8.5-by-11 inch sheets of hand-written notes (both sides) are allowed for Midterm 3. No computing device.
  • MIDTERM 4: Last Week of Class
    Closed book/notes. FOUR 8.5-by-11 inch sheets of hand-written notes (both sides) are allowed for Midterm 4. No computing device.


• FINAL EXAM: THERE IS NO FINAL EXAM IN EECS 20N THIS SEMESTER!!!
  


• Pop quizzes (in class, not announced in advance).

Homework

Lab Sections

Each student must enroll in one lab section. It will meet once a week for three hours in room 105 Cory. It will start with the TA giving a brief overview of the lab and required background material. Students are then expected to work at the computers to begin the lab assignments. Towards the end of the three-hour session, students may approach the TA with questions about homework, lecture materials, or general issues in the course. See lab assignments to determine which TA is responsible for which section.

The first lab will begin in the second week of the semester. You will be given an account by the TA in charge of your lab section. On occasion, a holiday may coincide with your lab section. If so, you must find another lab section to attend for that week only, but be sure to consult the TA of the section that you want to attend in advance.

The lab exercises are (typically) divided into two parts:

• In lab. A few simple exercises that should be completed within the scheduled lab time. The lab instructor will verify this by initialing the parts of the instructor verification sheet. Each student must turn in their own sheet to the instructor before leaving the lab.
• Independent. The main part of the lab may be completed during the scheduled lab period, or on your own time. It typically consists of some simple exercises and/or a design project that requires assembling many individual parts. Your lab writeup should summarize this work. Usually you can (and should) complete this part during the scheduled lab period as well. You are welcome to work in groups of up to FIVE current EECS 20N students, but each student must turn in his or her own lab writeup. Your team-mates must be in the same lab section as you.

The lab writeup is due at the beginning of the next lab. Please follow the guidelines for lab writeups. Keep them simple.

The purposes of the lab are (1) to cultivate skills in formulating questions and answers using a high-level software environment (traditionally, we have used MATLAB and Simulink, but this semester we plan on switching to LabView, if all the development work for the conversion is completed in time for your first lab ... Stay tuned!), (2) to develop intuition about lecture material by working with signals and systems numerically (rather than symbolically, as in the homework sets), and (3) to develop an understanding of the relationship between mathematical theory and executable procedures.

In addition, you may use the lab computers at any time that there is no scheduled lab for access to these web pages, the lab software, and other course-related materials.

Grading

We will adopt the following weighting scheme for the various course components:

• 10% Problem Sets
• 10% Labs
• 10% Quizzes
• 10% Midterm 1
• 20% Midterm 2
• 20% Midterm 3
• 20% Midterm 4

NOTE: We will drop (a) your lowest quiz score; (b) your lowest two problem set scores; and (c) your lowest lab score before we compute your final weighted average score for the course, which will then form the basis for your final course grade. We do NOT drop the lowest midterm score.

However, you should bring it to our attention if you encounter any difficulty with ramifications beyond these cushions. For example, if you expect to miss the lecture session in which there is a midterm, you must bring it to the instructor's attention in well in advance of the date in question.

Cooperation

An engineer rarely works alone. Cooperation and collaboration are realities of the working world. Learning to collaborate effectively is important. In view of this, we encourage you to collaborate in teams of up to FIVE current EECS 20N students on homeworks and lab reports. However, each student must turn in his or her own homework and lab report, indicating the names of the other team members. (See above).

However, caution is in order. It is up to you to ensure the full participation of each team member. In particular, you should not partition the work, nor should you carry a slacker out of charity. The purpose of the homework and labs is primarily to reinforce the lecture material and to help prepare you for the exams. You must actively participate in the solution to each problem for this to be effective; by turning in a problem set solution you testify that you have made substantial contribution to your team's efforts.

Cooperation or collaboration on exams is strictly prohibited and, if discovered, will be fully prosecuted. In general, we consider student misconduct in any aspect of the class to be a serious matter, and will prosecute any violation of the code of student conduct fully.