No lecture
ECE 133A: Applied Numerical Computing
UCLA, Fall 2026
ECE 133A introduces the methods and tools of numerical computing. We will study how core linear algebra concepts are applied to real-world engineering, data science, and machine learning applications.
📌 Course Information
Lecture (attendance not mandatory; encouraged; not recorded)
Tuesday & Thursday
8:00–9:50 AM
Perloff Hall 1102
Discussion (attendance mandatory; enrolled section only)
Friday
8:00–9:50 AM · Boelter 5440
10:00–11:50 AM · Boelter 5440
12:00–1:50 PM · Boelter 5280
Instructor: Liz Izhikevich. Liz's Office Hours: 10:00–11:00 AM on selected Wednesdays in E4 56-147G. See the calendar below for scheduled office hours, or meet by appointment.
TA: Rafi Zahedi. Office hours: TBD.
Textbook: Introduction to Applied Linear Algebra: Vectors, Matrices, and Least Squares by Stephen Boyd and Lieven Vandenberghe. The textbook website includes the book and supporting resources; textbook solutions (PDF) are also available. We will aim to cover one chapter per lecture.
Communication: Students must create an account on Ed Discussion for course discussion and questions.
Submissions: Students must create a Gradescope account for assignments and project materials. Entry code: G732N6.
🗓️ Tentative Topics and Schedule
Lecture
Discussion + quiz
Mon
Tuesday · Lecture
Wed
Thursday · Lecture
Friday · Discussion
Week 0
Sep 24
Chapter 1: Vectors
Sep 25
Discussion activity; no quiz
Week 1
Sep 29
Chapter 2: Linear functions
Sep 30
Liz's Office Hours
(E4 56-147G)
10–11 AM
Oct 1
Chapter 3: Norm and distance
Oct 2
Discussion activity; Quiz 1 (Chapters 1–2)
Week 2
Oct 6
Chapter 4: Clustering
Oct 7
Liz's Office Hours
(E4 56-147G)
10–11 AM
Oct 8
Chapter 5: Linear independence
Oct 9
Discussion activity; Quiz 2 (Chapters 3–4)
Week 3
Oct 13 · Virtual
Chapter 6: Matrices
Oct 15 · Virtual
Chapter 7: Matrix examples
Oct 16
Discussion activity; Quiz 3 (Chapters 5–6)
Week 4
Oct 20
Chapter 8: Linear equations
Oct 21
Liz's Office Hours
(E4 56-147G)
10–11 AM
Oct 22
Chapter 9: Linear dynamical systems
Oct 23
Discussion activity; Quiz 4 (Chapters 7–8)
Week 5
Oct 27
Chapter 10: Matrix multiplication
Oct 28
Liz's Office Hours
(E4 56-147G)
10–11 AM
Oct 29
Chapter 11: Matrix inverses
Oct 30
Discussion activity; Quiz 5 (Chapters 9–10)
Week 6
Nov 3
Chapter 12: Least squares
Nov 4
Liz's Office Hours
(E4 56-147G)
10–11 AM
Nov 5
Chapter 13: Least squares data fitting
Nov 6
Discussion activity; Quiz 6 (Chapters 11–12)
Week 7
Nov 10
Chapter 14: Least squares classification
Nov 11
Veterans Day
Nov 12
Chapter 15: Multi-objective least squares
Nov 13
Discussion activity; Quiz 7 (Chapters 13–14)
Week 8
Nov 17 · Virtual
Chapter 16: Constrained least squares
Nov 19
Chapter 17: Constrained least squares applications
Nov 20
Discussion activity; Quiz 8 (Chapters 15–16)
Week 9
Nov 24 · Virtual
Catch-up and review
Nov 26
Thanksgiving holiday — no lecture
Nov 27
Thanksgiving holiday — no discussion
Week 10
Dec 1
Chapter 18: Nonlinear least squares
Dec 2
Liz's Office Hours
(E4 56-147G)
10–11 AM
Dec 3
Chapter 19: Constrained nonlinear least squares
Dec 4
Discussion activity; Quiz 9 (Chapters 17–18)
🚩 Course Structure
Final course grades are based on the following three components:
📝 Quizzes (70%)
Quizzes are intended to ensure that students actually know the material. They will be short and taken during the first 30 minutes of discussion.
💬 In-person discussion activities (20%)
Discussion activities are completed in person during Friday discussion. Up to two activity scores may be dropped.
🔬 Final project (10%)
Students will complete a final project applying numerical-computing methods to an engineering problem. Project requirements and milestones will be announced during the quarter.
There is no graded homework. Students are nevertheless expected to work through the homework problems and understand them deeply in preparation for quizzes.
🤖 AI Policy
Use of large language models (LLMs) is heavily encouraged to help students understand how to solve problems and to generate additional practice problems. AI use is also acceptable for the final project. Students will be quizzed separately about the design choices and methods in their projects to ensure that they deeply understand the work they produced. To ensure students deeply understand the course material, students will also be quizzed on problem solving.