Parallel Computer Architecture and Programming (CMU 15-418/618)

From smart phones, to multi-core CPUs and GPUs, to the world's largest supercomputers and web sites, parallel processing is ubiquitous in modern computing. The goal of this course is to provide a deep understanding of the fundamental principles and engineering trade-offs involved in designing modern parallel computing systems as well as to teach parallel programming techniques necessary to effectively utilize these machines. Because writing good parallel programs requires an understanding of key machine performance characteristics, this course will cover both parallel hardware and software design.

Basic Info
Mon/Wed 3:00 - 4:20pm
GHC 4401 (Rashid Auditorium)
Instructors: Kayvon Fatahalian and Randal Bryant
See the course info page for more info on policies and logistics.
Spring 2016 Schedule
Jan 11
Jan 13
Assignment 1 out
Jan 18
No Class (CMU MLK holiday)
Jan 20
Quiz 1 due (on Fri Jan 22)
Jan 25
Assignment 1 due (on Mon Jan 25)
Jan 27
Assignment 2 out
Feb 1
Feb 3
Quiz 2 due (on Fri Feb 5)
Feb 8
Feb 10
Assignment 2 due
Assignment 3 out (on Fri Feb 12)
Feb 15
Feb 17
Quiz 3 due (on Fri Feb 19)
Feb 22
Feb 24
Assignment 3 due (on Fri Feb 26)
Feb 29
Exam I
Mar 2
Mar 7-11
Spring Break. Partaaay!
Mar 14
Assignment 4 out
Mar 16
Quiz 4 due (on Fri Mar 18)
Mar 21
Mar 23
Assignment 4 due (on Fri Mar 25)
Mar 28
Mar 30
Quiz 5 due (on Fri Apr 1)
Project Proposal Due (on Fri Apr 1)
Apr 4
Apr 6
Apr 11
Apr 13
Apr 18
Quiz 6 due (on Mon Apr 18)
Project Checkpoint Due (on Tues Apr 19)
Apr 20
Apr 25
Exam 2 (evening exam)
Apr 27
May 9
5th Annual Parallelism Competition
Final Projects Due
Assignments and Projects
Jan 25Assignment 1: Analyzing Parallel Program Performance on a Quad-Core CPU
Feb 10Assignment 2: A Simple Renderer in CUDA
Feb 26Assignment 3: ParaGraph: A Parallel Graph Library on Xeon Phi
Mar 25Assignment 4: A Simple, Elastic Web Server
May 9Final Project / Parallelism Competition
weeklyGuidelines and Tips for Making Good Lecture Comments
Acknowledgments

Special thanks to the Intel Corporation, the NVIDIA Corporation, and to DELL for equipment donations and/or financial support for course development. Todd Mowry created the original version of 15-418 and much of the structure of his innovative course persists today. Thanks to Matt Pharr for technical assistance with ISPC. Alex Reece, Manish Burman, and Cary Yang developed the course web site.