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Homework: 50%
Active participation in class: 20%
Term paper (or PowerPoint presentation): 30%
Homework assignments will be distributed via e-mail (attached PDF file). The due date will be clearly stated at the top of the assignment sheet. Typically, you will have 7 - 9 days to finish a given set. I request that you turn in your homework in class, either at the beginning or at the end of the lecture. You are allowed to discuss homework assignments with other students, however the work you turn in must be a fair representation of your own understanding of the course material. It is a violation of the Honor Code to copy another student's homework solution or to copy a solution found in another textbook or on the Internet. A few days after you have turned in your homework, I will distribute my solutions via e-mail (attached PDF file). None of the homework grades will be dropped.
For your term paper (or PowerPoint presentation) you will be given a variety of topics to choose from. The term paper is due at the last day of class, and the PowerPoint presentations will be scheduled during the last week of class and / or during the exam period. I expect about 20 typed pages (including figures and equations) for the term paper or, alternatively, a 25-minute PowerPoint presentation (+5 minute discussion). You are required to turn in an outline of your term paper / presentation to Prof. Umar no later than Monday, April 4, 2016. I will meet with each of you individually to discuss your outline and to offer additional suggestions.
A late homework assignment counts zero, unless you present a satisfactory excuse beforehand.
Graduate students are expected to attend all class meetings on time
and to actively participate in classroom discussions. Exceptional
circumstances may arise that merit the excused absence from class,
such as
* Serious illness or a death in a student's family; or
* Matters relating to academic training (e.g. attending a physics
conference, off- campus research approved by your Ph.D.
adviser).
If you need to miss a class meeting for any reason, please notify me
beforehand, either by e-mail or by phone; any casual or vague
statements after the fact will not be taken seriously.
Vanderbilt's Honor Code governs all work in this course.