Modern Trends in Optimization and Its Application

Organizing Committee | Activities | Scientific Overview

Participation | Application | Contact Us

Stephen Boyd (Stanford University, Engineering)
Emmanuel Candes (Stanford University, Applied and Computational Mathematics)
Masakazu Kojima (Tokyo Institute of Technology)
Monique Laurent (CWI, Amsterdam, and U. Tilburg)
Arkadi Nemirovski (Georgia Institute of Technology)
Yurii Nesterov (Université Catholique de Louvain)
Bernd Sturmfels (University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), Mathematics)
Michael Todd (Cornell University)
Lieven Vandenberghe (University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), EE)

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• Orientation Day at May's Landing (by invitation only). September 13, 2010.
• Optimization Tutorials. September 14 - 17, 2010.
• Workshop I: Convex Optimization and Algebraic Geometry. September 28 - October 1, 2010.
• Workshop II: Numerical Methods for Continuous Optimization. October 11 - 15, 2010.
• Workshop III: Discrete Optimization. October 26 - 29, 2010.
• Workshop IV: Robust Optimization. November 16 - 19, 2010.
• Workshop V: Applications of Optimization in Science and Engineering. November 30 - December 3, 2010.
• Culminating Workshop at Lake Arrowhead (by invitation only). December 12 - 17, 2010.

There will be an active program of research activities, seminars and workshops throughout the September 13 - December 17, 2010 period and core participants will be in residence at IPAM continuously for these fourteen weeks. The program will open with tutorials, and will be punctuated by five major workshops and a culminating workshop at UCLA’s Lake Arrowhead Conference Center. Several distinguished senior researchers will be in residence for the entire period. Between the workshops there will be a program of activities involving the long-term and short-term participants, as well as visitors.

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Mathematical optimization has experienced tremendous growth in the last 20 years, and today, fundamental advances continue to occur at a furious pace. Spectacular progress has been made in our understanding of convex optimization problems and, in particular, of convex cone programming whose rich geometric theory and expressive power makes it suitable for a wide spectrum of important optimization problems arising in engineering and applied science. We have also learned how to approximate combinatorially hard optimization problems by simpler convex problems, which are tractable and provide solutions guaranteed to be close to the original optimal solution. In a different direction, robust optimization offers new techniques for handling data uncertainty by computing solutions that have a guaranteed regime of stability with respect to parameter perturbations, and prevents solutions to be too sensitive to noise or model errors. On the numerical side, recent remarkable advances in algorithms have made possible solving optimization problems involving tens of thousands of variables and/or constraints---even tens of millions in some instances---in reasonable time. These and other fundamental developments, along with progress in high-quality software, have expanded the scale and complexity of optimization problems that can be addressed in practice, and are leading to a wider adoption of optimization techniques throughout many fields in science and engineering.

The proposed long program will be centered on the development and application of these modern trends in optimization. It will bring together researchers from mathematics, computer science, operations research, engineering, and other fields, who have a common interest in optimization. Centered around five workshops, the goal is to develop and exchange ideas about modern optimization which can be influenced by, and influence in turn, progress in engineering and science.

This long-term program will involve a community of senior and junior researchers. The intent is for participants to learn about new mathematical developments in this area, to meet a diverse group of people, and have ample opportunities to form new collaborations. In addition to these activities, there will be opening tutorials, five workshops, and a culminating workshop at Lake Arrowhead.

Full and partial support for long-term participants is available, and those interested are encouraged to fill out an online application at the bottom of this page. Support for individual workshops will also be available, and may be applied for through the online application for each workshop. We are especially interested in applicants who are interested in becoming core participants and participating in the entire program (September 13 - December 17, 2010), but give consideration to applications for shorter periods. Funding for participants is available at all academic levels, though recent PhD's, graduate students, and researchers in the early stages of their career are especially encouraged to apply.

Enhancing the careers of women and minority mathematicians and scientists is an important component of IPAM's mission and we welcome their applications.

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Application

An application form is available at:

This application is for people requesting financial support to attend and participate for extended periods up to the entire length of the program (September 13 - December 17, 2010). Applications for individual workshops are separate and will be posted on individual workshop home pages when available. We urge you to apply as early as possible. Applications will be accepted through June 13, 2010 but decisions will be made starting in January. Successful applicants will be notified as soon as funding decisions are made. Letters of reference may be sent to the address or email address below.

We have funding especially to support the attendance of recent PhD's, graduate students, and researchers in the early stages of their career; however, mathematicians and scientists at all levels who are interested in this area are encouraged to apply for funding. Encouraging the careers of women and minority mathematicians and scientists is an important component of IPAM's mission and we welcome their applications.

Contact Us:

Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics (IPAM)
Attn: OP2010
460 Portola Plaza
Los Angeles CA 90095-7121
Phone: 310 825-4755
Fax: 310 825-4756
Email:
Website: http://www.ipam.ucla.edu/programs/op2010/

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