SYLLABUS – MA 4560 – Introduction to Coding and Information Theory

Fall 2009, NPS, Dr. Pante Stanica

LECTURE:   M-Th 12:00-12:50pm, Sp-226;
INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Pante STANICA, 268 Spanagel, 656-2714,
                   pstanica@nps.edu; http://faculty.nps.edu/pstanica
                  (I prefer to be contacted by email)
OFFICE HOURS: M,T,W,Th  13:00-13:30pm (or come by if my door is open).
                  (Be aware that office hours are not a substitute for regular class time)

TEXT: Introduction to Coding and Information Theory (ed. 1997);
                  by Steven Roman
We shall also cover some topics found in other materials, so good notes are a must.

PREREQUISITE: MA1025, or equivalent exposure to elementary propositional and predicate logic and mathematical proof.
CALCULATOR POLICY: Using a CAS like Mathematica or Maple can give more insight.

MATERIAL TO BE COVERED (and Objectives for the course—subject to be adjusted along the way):
* Introduction to Codes

* Basics of Information Theory

* Coding Theory Problem

* Linear Codes

* Special Codes

HOMEWORK: You are encouraged to do as many problems as you can from the book. However the standard (default) assignment for each week is to read carefully the indicated sections and to prepare for homework the problems I will assign in class. The homework will not be collected. However, the exams may contain problems from the assigned homework. Every student will be required to do a presentation in front of the class. I will provide a list of topics, but the student may choose a topic which will have to be approved by me.

TESTS: One midterm/project will be given (students are responsible to read/investigate and give a presentation in class on the assigned project) and a final comprehensive take-home exam in Week 10 (to be returned one week later). Absolutely no collaboration is allowed. The midterm will be worth a total of 80 points and the final will be worth 120 points. No make-up tests will be given except in extraordinary circumstances (e.g. illness - present verified doctor's excuse). I reserve the right to give in-class pop quizzes (1-5pts), which will be used toward the final grade, as an add-on (extra credit) to the final score. If anything in the structure of the course will change I will announce it in class at least one week in advance. It is your responsibility to stay informed of such changes.

GRADING: The number of possible points is 200 (well, a bit more than that if you take the quizzes). For the letter grade I will use the following scale (be advised that class participation will be considered, especially in the borderline grades) (there are no exceptions from this scale!!!!):
185-200: A
175-184: A-
170-174: B+
160-169: B
155-159: B-
145-154: C+
135-144: C
130-134: C-
125-129: D+ 
100-124: D
0-99: failing grade.
An unresolved absence from either of the two tests or the final examination will result in a final grade of “FA”.

ACADEMIC HONESTY: Cheating in this course will not be tolerated and will be dealt with as harshly as the University permits. I will report any student behavior that appears contrary to the standards of discipline and academic honesty or violations of the provisions described in the current edition of NPS Student's Catalog.

CLASS ATTENDANCE AND ENVIRONMENT:  You should do every attempt to arrive on time and attend each class. You are responsible for the material covered in missed classes. I do not tolerate any rude behavior; however, I encourage constructive comments on the material and/or lecture. We have to maintain a class environment conducive to learning therefore I am against bringing “active” cell phones, pagers, and other similar disruptive devices into the classroom.

NOTES: The course is intended to provide an introduction to both the classical enciphering systems and also the more modern public key cryptosystems. We will show the strengths and weaknesses of the simple systems and indicate some simple cryptanalytic approaches to their solution. In general, the cryptanalytic techniques will lie beyond the scope of the course. A reasonable prerequisite for the course is a foundational grounding in the subject of applied modern algebra and finite fields as could be acquired in MA 3560. There will be a brief discussion of these topics later in the course.