Fall 2025
Instructor: Bonny Banerjee, Ph.D.
Contact Information:
Office: 208B Engineering Science Bldg.
Phone: 901-678-4498
E-mail: bbnerjee@memphis.edu (email communication preferred)
Office Hours: By appointment
When: Tue, Thu 1:00 pm-2:25 pm
Where: Fogelman Classroom Building, Room 125
Course Description:
Fundamentals of programming in LISP; central ideas of artificial intelligence, including heuristic search, problem solving, slot-and-filler structures, and knowledge representation.
Note: Prior knowledge in LISP is not required. Class project will involve some programming that can be done in any language (C/C++/C#, Java, MATLAB, Python, etc.). Any student not comfortable with programming should talk to the instructor in the first class.
Required Text:
"Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach" by Stuart Russell and Peter Norvig
Syllabus:
Introduction to a computational approach to artificial intelligence, intelligent agents, problem solving by searching, beyond classical search, logical agents, first-order logic, inference in first-order logic, classical planning, planning and acting in the real world, quantifying uncertainty, probabilistic reasoning, probabilistic reasoning over time.
Topics:
Course aims and agenda
Chapter 1: What is “intelligence”?
Chapter 2: Intelligent agents
Chapters 3-6: Problem solving
Chapters 7-12: Knowledge, reasoning and planning
Chapter 13: Quantifying uncertainty
Chapter 14: Probabilistic reasoning
Important dates:
8/26 (Tuesday): First class
10/9 (Thursday): Midterm exam (tentative)
10/14 (Tuesday): No class -- Fall Break
11/27 (Thursday): No class -- Thanksgiving
12/2 (Tuesday): Last class (project reports due)
12/11 (Thursday): Final exam (10:30 am-12:30 pm)
Evaluation and Final Grades:
Grading: Homework 25%, Midterm 25%, Final 25%, Project 25%.
The 4720 and 6720 sections will be graded separately. In each exam and homework, the students enrolled for 6720 will have to answer more questions.
Grading Scale:
Relative grading, based on curve.
Late submission:
No late submission will be entertained. An assignment not submitted within the due date and time will receive zero points.
Attendance policy:
Students are expected to attend all scheduled classes. If a student misses a class, it is the student’s responsibility to obtain the notes for the missed class and catch up on the course content.
Plagiarism/Cheating Policy:
Plagiarism or cheating behavior in any form is unethical and detrimental to proper education and will not be tolerated.