CSC 2/458:  Parallel and Distributed Systems

Spring 2019

Semester Project/Presentation

Each student in CSC 2/458 must either (1) read the most significant papers on a topic relevant to the course, lead a class period (or perhaps half a period, depending on demand) devoted to that topic, and write a survey paper, or (2) undertake a significant programming project relevant to the course, and turn in both the code and a report describing the results.  Survey papers should be comparable to a good conference or journal paper in length and quality of content:  10–15 pages is a reasonable target for length, but this is only a guideline.  With the consent of the instructor, students electing the project option can choose to work in teams, so long as the scope of the work is appropriate for the number of people. 

Possible semester projects

Possible topics for student-led classes

Due Date

By end of day on Saturday, March 23, post a description of your proposed project or presentation to the Piazza discussion group, where it can be seen by the rest of the class.  We will devote class on March 25, March 27, and (if necessary) April 1 to in-class presentations of these proposals.  Be prepared to spend 3–5 minutes describing your proposal in front of the class, using your Piazza post (or material linked from it) as a visual aid. 

Your proposal should describe the concrete goals for your project/presentation, an initial list of resources you intend to employ / sources you intend to consult, and anything else that you think is relevant.  Be sure to provide sufficient detail to demonstrate your preparation for the work.  For multi-person projects, please also be sure to name all the participants. 

Choice of class periods for survey presentations will be negotiated during class.  Final project write-ups and reports will be due by 5pm Friday May 3.


Last Change: 17 March 2019 / Michael Scott's email address