Description: The Computer Systems Seminar is a weekly meeting in which participants discuss recent and important results in the area of computer systems research. For a typical meeting, attendees will read and discuss two papers that are chosen from recent systems, networking, or security conferences. Papers are selected for discussion according to the semester's focus topic, the papers' relevance to participants' own research, and/or the papers' relevance to upcoming Utah visitors. Some meetings may be centered on presentations of a participant's own research: e.g., a practice talk for an upcoming conference. Each meeting has one or more designated “facilitators” who are responsible for leading the discussion.
Objectives: To increase participants' familiarity with recent and important research results in computer systems; to improve participants' skills in presenting computer systems research.
Prerequisites: An undergraduate computer science background is required for this course. General knowledge of computer systems design, both software and hardware, is necessary.
Credit: A student may enroll in the seminar for one (1) credit hour. Although the course is listed as “variable credit,” the course is only available for one credit in all but the most exceptional circumstances. A student who wants to enroll in the seminar for more than one credit hour must request and receive approval from the instructor.
Grading: Grading is based on participation. “Participation” is not merely presence; it means engaging with the course in ways that demonstrate sincere effort to master the course material. The primary course activities are:
On every week that the seminar is held, every student taking the course for credit must read all of the papers for that week, submit a short summary of each paper prior to class, and participate in the discussion. In addition, every enrolled student must facilitate at least one seminar meeting during the semester.
Paper summaries should be submitted to the instructor via email prior to class. Late paper summaries are not generally accepted. Late paper summaries may be accepted in exceptional circumstances only, at the sole discretion of the instructor.
Cheating: In this course, “cheating” refers to plagiarism in the written summaries that students submit to the instructor. Cheating in this course is not tolerated. The penalty for cheating in this course is a failing grade for the course.
A summary must consist of a student's sole, original work. Unattributed copying of material from the papers being discussed or other sources is plagiarism as will be treated as such. Unacceptable paraphrasing of papers or other sources is also plagiarism and will be treated as such.
Students are encouraged to discuss the seminar's readings with each other—discussing the papers is a primary activity of this course! However, any written summary that a student submits to the instructor must be the original work of that student alone. Jointly authored summaries are not allowed.
All questions about the definitions of cheating and plagiarism in this course should be directed to the instructor. (The web has many resources that can help you to understand and avoid plagiarism, but if you have questions, please contact the instructor.)
Statement and Acknowledgment: In accordance with the School of Computing's Policy Statement on Academic Misconduct dated January 10, 2012, the instructor will discuss the School's academic misconduct policy in the first two weeks of the course. Students will be required to understand the policy and to submit an acknowledgment form. Links to the policy statement and acknowledgment form are found below.
For information about adding courses, withdrawing from courses, appealing grades, and more, please refer to the web site maintained by the College of Engineering's Office of Academic Affairs.
The University of Utah seeks to provide equal access to its programs, services and activities for people with disabilities. If you will need accommodations in the class, reasonable prior notice needs to be given to the Center for Disability Services, 162 Olpin Union Building, 581–5020 (V/TDD). CDS will work with you and the instructor to make arrangements for accommodations. All written information in this course can be made available in alternative format with prior notification to the Center for Disability Services.