CS 481/681 > Course Information

CS 481/681, Spring 2004
Course Information

COURSE:	CS 481 Advanced Computer Graphics & CS 681 Topics in Computer Graphics.
Time & place:	1:00-2:00 MWF, 104 Chapman.
Prerequisites:	CS 381 and MATH 314.
Dept. policies:	See °`http://www.cs.uaf.edu`

INSTRUCTOR:	Glenn G. Chappell, Mathematical Sciences/ARSC.
Office:	201B Chapman.
Office hours:	2:15 p.m. MWF or by appointment (but feel free to stop by any time!).
Office phone:	[474-]5736. This is also voice mail.
E-mail:	`ffggc@uaf.edu`
Paper mailbox:	Inside the Math Dept. office (101 Chapman).

TEXTS:	Angel, Interactive Computer Graphics, A Top-Down Approach Using OpenGL, 3rd ed., Addison-Wesley, 2003. Woo, Neider, Davis, and Schreiner, OpenGL Programming Guide, 3rd ed., Addison-Wesley, 1999.

WEB PAGE:	`http://www.cs.uaf.edu/~cs481` (There is no separate CS 681 page.)

Course Organization

The course covers advanced computer graphics programming. Major topics are expected to be as follows (this may change somewhat).

Virtual reality
Organizing a 3-D scene: object-oriented implementation, hierarchical objects, scene graphs
Advanced HSR methods
Buffers, tests, and blending
Describing 3-D objects: splines, implicit descriptions, 3-D printing
Procedural methods for CG: physics-based models, particle systems, fractals
Non-pipeline-based rendering: ray tracing, radiosity

Homework will be assigned, roughly weekly, primarily involving C++ programming. Later in the course, each student will do a project, based on requirements negotiated individually with the instructor.

Two exams will be given: a midterm and a final; both will be take-home. Dates are listed below. The final exam will be comprehensive, but will emphasize the material covered after the midterm.

Grades

Course grades will be based on points earned, using a 90-80-70-60 scale with values as follows.

Assignments (total)    200 pts

Semester Project     100 pts

Midterm Exam     100 pts

Final Exam    100 pts

TOTAL    500 pts

Programming assignments that following instructions exactly will be awarded 80% credit. For full credit, students must add additional features to programs; guidelines for this will be distributed with assignment descriptions. Late homework will be accepted, but not for full credit.

Plagiarism (claiming another's work as your own) will result in a score of zero on the relevant exam or assignment, and may result in other penalties, including, but not limited to, an "F" in the course and a report to the University authorities.

Important Dates

Mon 1/19	No class (AK Civil Rights Day)
Wed 3/10	Take-home midterm due
Fri 3/12	Last day to withdraw from the course
Mon 3/15-Fri 3/19	No class (Spring Break)
Fri 4/23	No class (All Campus Day)
Wed 5/5	1-3 p.m. “Final exam” meeting: class will meet. Final exams due start (1 p.m.).

Attendance

You are responsible for all material covered and announcements made during class, whether you are there or not. Work done during a missed class may be made up only if the following requirements are met.

If you must miss class for a scheduled event (for example, a university athletic event), notify the instructor several days ahead of time in order to plan how to handle that day's work.
If you must miss class due to an unscheduled event (for example, illness), notify the instructor or the Math Dept. as soon as possible, preferably on the day you miss.

Additional Requirements

Students in this class must pay the DMS lab fee. Payment allows access to the Chapman 103 lab.
Students will be required to apply for an ID with the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center and to sign an ARSC security agreement.

CS 481/681, Spring 2004: Course Information / Last update: 1 Feb 2004 / Glenn G. Chappell / ffggc@uaf.edu