Related papers: A Note on the Stochastic Ruler Method for Discrete…
This paper considers simulation-based optimization of the performance of a regime-switching stochastic system over a finite set of feasible configurations. Inspired by the stochastic fictitious play learning rules in game theory, we propose…
Stochastic optimization problems often involve data distributions that change in reaction to the decision variables. This is the case for example when members of the population respond to a deployed classifier by manipulating their features…
Machine learning (ML) methods are used in most technical areas such as image recognition, product recommendation, financial analysis, medical diagnosis, and predictive maintenance. An important aspect of implementing ML methods involves…
This paper studies an optimal control problem for continuous-time stochastic systems subject to reachability objectives specified in a subclass of metric interval temporal logic specifications, a temporal logic with real-time constraints.…
We propose new sequential simulation-optimization algorithms for general convex optimization via simulation problems with high-dimensional discrete decision space. The performance of each choice of discrete decision variables is evaluated…
We develop and analyze a set of new sequential simulation-optimization algorithms for large-scale multi-dimensional discrete optimization via simulation problems with a convexity structure. The "large-scale" notion refers to that the…
Many physical and biological processes are stochastic in nature. Computational models and simulations of such processes are a mathematical and computational challenge. The basic stochastic simulation algorithm was published by D. Gillespie…
We analyze a stochastic approximation algorithm for decision-dependent problems, wherein the data distribution used by the algorithm evolves along the iterate sequence. The primary examples of such problems appear in performative prediction…
We consider a regularized expected reward optimization problem in the non-oblivious setting that covers many existing problems in reinforcement learning (RL). In order to solve such an optimization problem, we apply and analyze the…
We provide a unifying approximate dynamic programming framework that applies to a broad variety of problems involving sequential estimation. We consider first the construction of surrogate cost functions for the purposes of optimization,…
We propose a stochastic approximation method for approximating the efficient frontier of chance-constrained nonlinear programs. Our approach is based on a bi-objective viewpoint of chance-constrained programs that seeks solutions on the…
An important challenge in statistical analysis concerns the control of the finite sample bias of estimators. This problem is magnified in high-dimensional settings where the number of variables $p$ diverges with the sample size $n$, as well…
This paper considers an optimization problem for a dynamical system whose evolution depends on a collection of binary decision variables. We develop scalable approximation algorithms with provable suboptimality bounds to provide…
Though switched dynamical systems have shown great utility in modeling a variety of physical phenomena, the construction of an optimal control of such systems has proven difficult since it demands some type of optimal mode scheduling. In…
We study local complexity measures for stochastic convex optimization problems, providing a local minimax theory analogous to that of H\'{a}jek and Le Cam for classical statistical problems. We give complementary optimality results,…
In recent years, semidefinite relaxations of common optimization problems in robotics have attracted growing attention due to their ability to provide globally optimal solutions. In many cases, it was shown that specific handcrafted…
We study contextual stochastic optimization problems, where we leverage rich auxiliary observations (e.g., product characteristics) to improve decision making with uncertain variables (e.g., demand). We show how to train forest decision…
A new method for stochastic control based on neural networks and using randomisation of discrete random variables is proposed and applied to optimal stopping time problems. The method models directly the policy and does not need the…
We develop a family of reformulations of an arbitrary consistent linear system into a stochastic problem. The reformulations are governed by two user-defined parameters: a positive definite matrix defining a norm, and an arbitrary discrete…
We consider a stochastic linear system and address the design of a finite horizon control policy that is optimal according to some average cost criterion and accounts also for probabilistic constraints on both the input and state variables.…