CS 169 / CS 268 - Introduction to Optimization - Fall 2026
CS 169 is the undergraduate course and CS 268 is the graduate course. The two courses meet together and share this website.
Instructor: Ioannis Panageas
Email: ipanagea@ics.uci.edu
Office hours: By appointment
Teaching assistant: Parnian Shahkar
Email: shahkarp@uci.edu
Office hours: To be announced
Teaching assistant: Aidan Sciortino
Email: asciorti@uci.edu
Office hours: To be announced
Class announcements
Class announcements will be made on EdStem. Please check there frequently.
Class meetings
Lectures: 3:30–4:50 p.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays, ICS 174 (in person).
Questions of general interest about the course material and homework should be posted on EdStem.
Syllabus
The Fall 2026 syllabus, including grading policies and requirements for CS 169 and CS 268, can be found here.
Reading materials
Edwin K. P. Chong, Wu-Sheng Lu, and Stanislaw H. Żak, An Introduction to Optimization, fifth edition. Additional readings will be announced.Schedule of classes
| Lecture / Date | Topics | Reading / Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|
Lecture 1 () |
Administrivia, Introduction |
L1 |
|
Lecture 2 () |
Convexity and Optimality |
L2 Chapters2.1, 2.4, 3.4, 4.1, 4.3, 4.4, 5.2–5.6, 6.1, 6.2 and 22.2, 22.3. |
|
Lecture 3 () |
Taylor Approximations |
L3 Chapters3.4, 5.5 and 5.6. |
|
Lecture 4 () |
Linear Programming |
L4 Chapters15.2 - 15.8 |
|
| No class | No class | ||
| Thanksgiving holiday | No class |
Homework assignments
Homework assignments will be announced on EdStem.
If you have difficulty accessing course materials, please email Ioannis Panageas for assistance.