CSC 433 - Computer Graphics (Fall 2018)

M/W 2:00-3:15pm, 906 Gould-Simpson

Course Syllabus

Description of Course
Course Content
Course Policies
Department and University Policies

Description of Course

Theory and practice of computer graphics: basic graphics programming, 2D and 3D transformations, clipping, 2D and 3D viewing, hierarchical modeling, hidden surface removal, lighting and shading, color, ray-tracing, radiosity, curve and surface modeling, and animation.

Course Prerequisites or Co-requisites

Students are expected to have advanced programming skills in C++ and introductory knowledge of linear algebra and calculus. For undergraduates, this includes CSC 252 (Computer Organization), CSC 335 (Object-Oriented Programming and Design), CSC 345 (Analysis of Discrete Structures), and CSC 352 (Systems Programming and Unix). While students majoring in areas other than CSC are encouraged to enroll, certain topics may prove challenging. Please contact the instructor if you are unsure if you satisfy the prerequisites.

Instructor and Contact Information

Instructor: Joshua A. Levine
Office: 754 Gould-Simpson
Phone: +1-520-621-3153
Email (preferred mode of communication): [username]@arizona.edu, my username is josh.
TA: Kairong Jiang
TA’s Email: jiangkairong@email.arizona.edu
Office Hours: M 3:30-4:30pm, T 4:30-5:30pm (GS 754), or by appointment
- Otherwise, we can schedule an appointment (via email or private message on Piazza) to meet in my office
  - Open Door Policy: if my office door is open, please feel free to stop by and inquire if I have available time. If my door is completely closed, it typically indicates I am in an (uninterruptible, except for emergencies) meeting or phone call. Please use your best discretion.
- TA Office Hours (primarily for issues with grading): T 10:00-11:00am, F 1:00-2:00pm (GS 919)
Course Page: https://jalevine.bitbucket.io/csc433/
Instructor Homepage: http://www.cs.arizona.edu/~josh
D2L (433): https://d2l.arizona.edu/d2l/home/720720
Piazza: https://piazza.com/arizona/fall2018/csc433/home

Course Format and Teaching Methods

Primarily, the format is driven by lectures combined with in-class discussion. Out-of-class activities include readings in relevant textbooks and research papers, programming assignments, take-home exercises, and online discussions.

Course Objectives and Expected Learning Outcomes

This course will cover both a theoretical understanding and practical application of computer graphics concepts. Students who successfully complete this course will be expected to:

describe and apply the foundations of computer graphics, including hardware systems, mathematics for computer graphics, light, and color;
understand and write programs that implement key concepts from two-dimensional graphics, including raster image formats, image and signal processing, image deformation, and rasterization;
understand and write programs that implement key concepts for rendering complex three-dimensional scenes, including projections and view transformations, visibility algorithms, ray tracing, scene descriptions, and spatial data structures;
become familiar with and implement partial prototypes for a variety of advanced topics in computer graphics; including texturing, animation, physically-based modeling, procedural modeling, curves and surfaces, global illumination, implicit modeling, and/or interaction; and
undertake creative work and be familiar with open computer graphics research problem areas.

Course Content

Location

Lecture meeting time: M/W 2:00-3:15pm
Lecture meeting location: 906 Gould-Simpson

Lecture Topics

Week	Date	Monday	Date	Wednesday

1	Aug 20	Introduction	Aug 22	Raster Images
2	Aug 27	Color and Perception	Aug 29	Image Compositing
3	Sep 03	-- Labor Day --	Sep 05	Signal Processing
4	Sep 10	Image Manipulation	Sep 12	Chapter 2 Math + Coding
5	Sep 17	Ray Tracing 1	Sep 19	Ray Tracing 2
6	Sep 24	Ray Tracing 3	Sep 26	Ray Tracing 4 (GHC)
7	Oct 01	Triangle Meshes	Oct 03	Acceleration Structures
8	Oct 08	Matrix Math + Coding	Oct 10	Transformations
9	Oct 15	Viewing	Oct 17	Midterm Exam
10	Oct 22	-- In-Class Review --	Oct 24	-- IEEE VIS --
11	Oct 29	Graphics Pipeline 1	Oct 31	Graphics Pipeline 2
12	Nov 05	Textures	Nov 07	Animation 1
13	Nov 12	-- Veterans Day --	Nov 14	Animation 2
14	Nov 19	Animation 3	Nov 21	Curves
15	Nov 26	Curves/Surfaces	Nov 28	Implicit Modeling
16	Dec 03	Global Illumination	Dec 05	Final Exam Review

Required Texts and Readings

Marschner and Shirley, Fundamentals of Computer Graphics, 4th Edition, 2015, ISBN 978-1482229394. (Note: the textbook is available electronically though the UA library)
Other handouts, research papers, and materials linked to on the course webpage

Assignments and Examinations

Assignments

This course will involved 6 assignments, each spanning approximately two (or occassionally three) weeks from posting date to due date. All assignments will have two components: a written component and a related programming exercise. The programming component will be completed in C++, built with CMake, and occassional rely on external libraries such as the Simple DirectMedia Layer.

Name	Topic	Post Date	Due Date	Graded Date	Percent

Assignment 01	Image Basics	Aug 22	Sep 05	Sep 12	3
Assignment 02	Images	Sep 05	Sep 24	Oct 01	10
Assignment 03	Ray Tracing	Sep 24	Oct 15	Oct 22	12
Assignment 04	Shapes	Oct 15	Oct 31	Nov 07	10
Assignment 05	Rasterizer	Oct 31	Nov 19	Nov 26	10
Assignment 06	Animation	Nov 19	Dec 05	Dec 10	10

		Total Assignment Percentage:			55

Class Participation

This class participation grade is the instructor’s subjective judgement of the student’s contribution to a lively classroom atmosphere. He will consider mainly active, informed participation in classroom discussions, and homework reviews. Obviously, students not attending class are not contributing in this way.

Midterm Examination

A midterm exam will be held in class on Wednesday, February 28th, and it will cover all material discussed in class prior to the date of the examination. The written portions of assignments will provide sample questions.

Final Examination

The final examination will be comprehensive. The written portions of assignments will provide sample questions and a review will be conducted on the final lecture.

Exam Date/Time/Location: Wed., Dec. 12, 1-3pm, 906 Gould-Simpson

Submission, Lateness, and Revision Policy

All assignments have a fixed due date. Revisions and resubmissions after grading will not be accepted.

Submission for assignments will be due on 01:59:59PM of the due date unless otherwise noted. A late submission will receive a penalty of 10% per day for each work day it is late, up to a maximum of 5 days late. Grades for assignment submitted late may not be posted within the same time frame as assignments submitted on time, but the instructor will make their best effort to expedite the grading of late submissions.

Course Policies

Absence and Class Participation Policy

The UA’s policy concerning Class Attendance, Participation, and Administrative Drops is available at http://catalog.arizona.edu/policy/class-attendance-participation-and-administrative-drop

The UA policy regarding absences for any sincerely held religious belief, observance or practice will be accommodated where reasonable: http://policy.arizona.edu/human-resources/religious-accommodation-policy.

Absences preapproved by the UA Dean of Students (or dean’s designee) will be honored. See https://deanofstudents.arizona.edu/absences.

Participating in the course and attending lectures and other course events are vital to the learning process. That said, attendance is not required for lectures. Students who miss class due to illness or emergency are not required to bring documentation from their health-care provider or other relevant, professional third parties. Nevertheless, class participation is an important part of your grade in this course, and it is impossible for a student to participate and the instructor to gauge participation if a student does not attend.

Late Instructor

Your instructor will make every effort to be in class on time, or to inform you of any delay or cancellation. In the unusual event that he should not arrive in class or send word by 15 minutes from the class start time, the class is officially cancelled.

Makeup Policy for Students Who Register Late

Students who register after the first class meeting may make up missed assignments/quizzes at a deadline set in consultation with the instructor.

Course Communications

We will use official UA email and Piazza as the primary mode of contact. D2L will be used only for the instructor to securely distribute grades to students.

Grading Scale and Grading Policies

Grades will be assigned based on the following scale:

A >= 90%
80% <= B < 90%
70% <= C < 80%
60% <= D < 70%
E < 60%

Grading will be based on performance on the set of assignments, the midterm and final exam, and class participation:

Assignments: 55%
Midterm Exam: 15%
Final Exam: 20%
Class Participation: 10%

Each assignment description will include a specific rubric for how it is graded, typically out of a score between 0 and 100. Scores on such assignments will be weighted according to the relative point value of each assignment as highlighted above.

Department of Computer Science Grading Policy

Instructors will explicitly promise when every assignment and exam will be graded and returned to students. These promised dates will appear in the syllabus, associated with the corresponding due dates and exam dates.
Graded homework will be returned before the next homework is due.
Exams will be returned “promptly”, as defined by the instructor (and as promised in the syllabus).
Grading delays beyond promised return-by dates will be announced as soon as possible with an explanation for the delay.

Requests for incomplete (I) or withdrawal (W)

Request must be made in accordance with University policies, which are available at http://catalog.arizona.edu/policy/grades-and-grading-system#incomplete and http://catalog.arizona.edu/policy/grades-and-grading-system#Withdrawal, respectively.

Dispute of Grade Policy

After receiving any grade for any submission, a student has 24 hours to respond to the instructor with any disputes in an email with the subject “Grade Dispute”. Such a response must enumerate a specific set of disputed items for the submission and provide evidence that each item was improperly graded. The instructor will then completely regrade the entire submission, including both the disputed items as well as non-disputed items, with the potential for all aspects of the grade to change.

Department and University Policies

Department of Computer Science Code of Conduct

The Department of Computer Science is committed to providing and maintaining a supportive educational environment for all. We strive to be welcoming and inclusive, respect privacy and confidentiality, behave respectfully and courteously, and practice intellectual honesty. Disruptive behaviors (such as physical or emotional harassment, dismissive attitudes, and abuse of department resources) will not be tolerated. The complete Code of Conduct is available on our department web site. We expect that you will adhere to this code, as well as the UA Student Code of Conduct, while you are a member of this class.

Classroom Behavior Policy

To foster a positive learning environment, students and instructors have a shared responsibility. We want a safe, welcoming, and inclusive environment where all of us feel comfortable with each other and where we can challenge ourselves to succeed. To that end, our focus is on the tasks at hand and not on extraneous activities (e.g., texting, chatting, reading a newspaper, making phone calls, web surfing, etc.).

Students are asked to refrain from disruptive conversations with people sitting around them during lecture.

Some learning styles are best served by using personal electronics, such as laptops and iPads. Nevertheless, these devices can be distracting to other learners. While all students are welcome to use personal electronics in class, they must be used in a way that does not disrupt either the instructor or other students’ experience.

Students observed engaging in disruptive activity will be asked to cease this behavior. Those who continue to disrupt the class will be asked to leave lecture or discussion and may be reported to the Dean of Students.

Threatening Behavior Policy

The UA Threatening Behavior by Students Policy prohibits threats of physical harm to any member of the University community, including to oneself. See http://policy.arizona.edu/education-and-student-affairs/threatening-behavior-students.

Content Warning

While the instructor does not intend to include topics and/or course material includes content that are explicit or offensive in any way. The instructor will make every effort to provide advance notice when such materials may potentially be or potentially violate this intent. Please contact the instructor to discuss any content-related concerns, as alternative materials may be available.

Accessibility and Accommodations

At the University of Arizona we strive to make learning experiences as accessible as possible. If you anticipate or experience physical or academic barriers based on disability or pregnancy, you are welcome to let me know so that we can discuss options. You are also encouraged to contact Disability Resources (520-621-3268) to explore reasonable accommodation.

If our class meets at a campus location: Please be aware that the accessible table and chairs in this room should remain available for students who find that standard classroom seating is not usable.

Code of Academic Integrity

Students are encouraged to share intellectual views and discuss freely the principles and applications of course materials. However, graded work/exercises must be the product of independent effort unless otherwise instructed. Students are expected to adhere to the UA Code of Academic Integrity as described in the UA General Catalog. See http://deanofstudents.arizona.edu/academic-integrity/students/academic-integrity.

The University Libraries have some excellent tips for avoiding plagiarism, available at http://new.library.arizona.edu/research/citing/plagiarism. Publicly available sources for code or other material, in small amounts, may be freely used if appropriately attributed. A good rule of thumb: when in doubt about whether the use of small snippets of code not your own in a programming assignment is allowed, first ask the instructor.

Selling class notes and/or other course materials to other students or to a third party for resale is not permitted without the instructor’s express written consent. Violations to this and other course rules are subject to the Code of Academic Integrity and may result in course sanctions. Additionally, students who use D2L or UA e-mail to sell or buy these copyrighted materials are subject to Code of Conduct Violations for misuse of student e-mail addresses. This conduct may also constitute copyright infringement.

UA Nondiscrimination and Anti-harassment Policy

The University is committed to creating and maintaining an environment free of discrimination; see http://policy.arizona.edu/human-resources/nondiscrimination-and-anti-harassment-policy

Our classroom is a place where everyone is encouraged to express well-formed opinions and their reasons for those opinions. We also want to create a tolerant and open environment where such opinions can be expressed without resorting to bullying or discrimination of others.

Additional Resources for Students

UA Academic policies and procedures are available at http://catalog.arizona.edu/policies

Student Assistance and Advocacy information is available at http://deanofstudents.arizona.edu/student-assistance/students/student-assistance

Confidentiality of Student Records

See http://www.registrar.arizona.edu/personal-information/family-educational-rights-and-privacy-act-1974-ferpa?topic=ferpa

Subject to Change Statement

Information contained in the course syllabus, other than the grade and absence policy, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.