Machine Learning at Brown University
Welcome to CSCI1420!
How can artificial systems learn from examples, and discover information buried in massive datasets? We explore the theory and practice of statistical machine learning, focusing on computational methods for supervised and unsupervised data analysis. Specific topics include empirical risk minimization, probably approximately correct learning, maximum likelihood parameter estimation, kernel methods, neural networks, the expectation maximization algorithm, and principal component analysis.
Time: 2:30 - 3:50pm, Tue & Thu
Location: List Art Center 120
Announcement
For important information on registration and the course waitlist, see the FAQ available here.
Lectures
Time and Location: Tuesday & Thursday, 2:30pm to 3:50pm ET
Lecture Recordings: Lecture recordings are available through Canvas Media Library.
Schedule
| Date | Topics | Book Chapters | Notes | Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday, Jan 22 | Intro, ERM framework | 1, 2.0, 2.1, 2.2 | ||
| Tuesday, Jan 27 | Halfspaces and Perceptron | 9.0, 9.1.0, 9.1.2 | ||
| Thursday, Jan 29 | Regression | 9.2, 9.3, 12.1.1, 14.0, 14.1.0 | ||
| Tuesday, Feb 3 | SGD, Data Prep, and other Practicalities | 14.3.0, 14.5.1 | End of shopping period | |
| Thursday, Feb 5 | PAC Learning | 2.3, 3 | ||
| Tuesday, Feb 10 | QUIZ #1 (Lectures 1-5) | |||
| Thursday, Feb 12 | The Bias-Complexity Tradeoff | 5 | ||
| Tuesday, Feb 17 | LONG WEEKEND, NO CLASS | Last day to add class (Wed) | ||
| Thursday, Feb 19 | Model Selection, Validation, and Regularization | 11.0, 11.2, 11.3, 13.1, 13.4 | ||
| Tuesday, Feb 24 | Boosting | 10 | ||
| Thursday, Feb 26 | Decision Trees | 18 | ||
| Tuesday, Mar 3 | Learning via Uniform Convergence | 4 | ||
| Thursday, Mar 5 | VC Dimension | 6, 9.1.3 | ||
| Tuesday, Mar 10 | QUIZ #2 (Lectures 6-11) | |||
| Thursday, Mar 12 | Naive Bayes | 24.0, 24.1, 24.2 | ||
| Tuesday, Mar 17 | Support Vector Machines | 15 | ||
| Thursday, Mar 19 | Kernel Methods | 16 | ||
| Tuesday, Mar 24 | NO CLASS (SPRING BREAK) | |||
| Thursday, Mar 26 | NO CLASS (SPRING BREAK) | |||
| Tuesday, Mar 31 | Neural Networks | 20.0, 20.1, 20.2, 20.3 | ||
| Thursday, Apr 2 | Backpropagation | 20.6 | ||
| Tuesday, Apr 7 | QUIZ #3 (Lectures 12-16) | |||
| Thursday, Apr 9 | K-Means | 22.0, 22.2, 22.5 | ||
| Tuesday, Apr 14 | Expectation Maximization | 24.4 | ||
| Thursday, Apr 16 | Principal Component Analysis | 23.0, 23.1 | ||
| Tuesday, Apr 21 | QUIZ #4 (Lectures 17-19) | |||
| Thursday, Apr 23 | Ethics in Machine Learning OR Cutting Edge Machine Learning |
Homework Policy
All assignments are due at 12:00pm noon. Written and programming assignments are to be submitted to Gradescope. See the missive for more information on late days and extensions.
Assignments
The report template can be found here.
| Description | Release | Due | Latex | Code | Solutions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1. Review, Python | Jan 22 | Jan 29 | Latex | Code | |
| #2. Halfspaces and Regression | Jan 29 | Feb 5 | Latex | Code | |
| #3. PAC Learning and the Bias-Complexity Tradeoff | Feb 12 | Feb 19 | Latex | ||
| #4. Model Selection, Validation, and Regularization | Feb 19 | Feb 26 | Latex | Code | |
| #5. Boosting and Decision Trees | Feb 26 | Mar 5 | Latex | Code | |
| #6. Uniform Convergence and VC Dimension | Mar 12 | Mar 19 | Latex | ||
| #7. SVM and Kernels | Mar 19 | Apr 2 | Latex | Code | |
#8. Neural Networks | Apr 9 | Apr 16 | |||
#9. Unsupervised Learning | Apr 23 | Apr 30 |
Calendar
Refer to the calendar below for the most up-to-date lecture and office hour schedule.
Meet Our Staff
Stephen Bach
he/him | Professor
🏠 Providence, RI | 🍽️ Tallulah's
Assistant professor with an awesome team of students. Check out our research group! (link under 'Useful Links')
George Chemmala
he/him | HTA
🏠 Canton, GA | 🍽️ Tori Tomo
Hi, I'm George from Georgia, a senior studying Math + CS!
Gordan Milovac
he/him | HTA
🏠 Split, Croatia | 🍽️ Chomp
Hi! I’m a 5th-year master’s student in CS. Recently freed from varsity rowing, I now spend my time outdoors and trying new food. Excited to be your HTA this semester!
Jaideep Naik
he/him | HTA
🏠 South Windsor, CT | 🍽️ Palo
Hi, I'm a senior from CT studying APMA-CS. Big fan of travelling, playing soccer, and working out. And my dog. And new Beli spots.
Andrew Gao
he/him | UTA
🏠 Cupertino, CA | 🍽️ Chong Qing House
Hi, I'm a senior studying APMA-CS. In my free time, I like playing the violin, shooting hoops, and playing Brawl Stars. Looking forward to TAing this semester!
Arjan Chakravarthy
he/him | UTA
🏠 Chennai, India | 🍽️ East Side Pockets
Hi, I'm Arjan, and I'm a senior studying CS. In my free time, I enjoy playing badminton and trying new food. Excited to be your TA this semester!
Deepak Kulkarni
he/him | UTA
🏠 Pune, India | 🍽️ CHOP
Hi, I'm Deepak. I'm first years Master's Student. I like to play soccer!
Eric Kim
he/him | UTA
🏠 Seoul, South Korea | 🍽️ Mike's Calzones
Hi, I'm a senior at Brown studying CS-Econ! In my free time, I like watching/playing soccer (Premier League fan), working out, and watching cooking videos. Excited to work with everyone over the semester!
Everest Yang
he/him | UTA
🏠 Lexington, MA | 🍽️ Heng Thai
Hi, I'm a junior studying CS. I love movies, hiking, and tennis! Excited to meet y'all!!
Fiona Fan
she/her | UTA
🏠 Princeton, NJ | 🍽️ Bayberry Garden
Welcome to ML! I’m a junior studying APMA + CS. Outside of class, you’ll usually find me running, drinking coffee/matcha, or cooking something new. Excited to meet everyone this semester!
Hrithik Nambiar
he/him | UTA
🏠 Kerala, India | 🍽️ Kaza Maza
Hello everyone! I enjoy computer science and math. I love to read books, play soccer, and run. Excited to meet y'all :)
Khadija Irfan
she/her | UTA
🏠 Islamabad, Pakistan | 🍽️ Wayback Burgers
Heyy! I’m a master’s student with an interest in AI/ML. I love rock climbing, trying out new food spots, and traveling. Excited to TA 1420 this semester!
Muhiim Ali
she/her | UTA
🏠 Burco, Somaliland | 🍽️ East Side Pockets
Heyyy! I’m a fifth-year master’s student in Computer Science. In my free time, I enjoy staying active, trying new foods, and exploring new music. Excited to be your TA this semester :D
Sammy Liu
he/him | UTA
🏠 Acton, MA | 🍽️ Aguardente
Welcome to ML! I'm a junior studying CS and APMA. In my free time, you'll find me playing spikeball on the Main Green, going to the gym, or eating on Thayer. Excited to be TA-ing 1420 again!