Related papers: A nonparametric algorithm for optimal stopping bas…
Optimal damping aims at determining a vector of damping coefficients $\nu$ that maximizes the decay rate of a mechanical system's response. This problem can be formulated as the minimization of the trace of the solution of a Lyapunov…
Stochastic optimization has found wide applications in minimizing objective functions in machine learning, which motivates a lot of theoretical studies to understand its practical success. Most of existing studies focus on the convergence…
The goal of robust motion planning consists of designing open-loop controls which optimally steer a system to a specific target region while mitigating uncertainties and disturbances which affect the dynamics. Recently, stochastic optimal…
In this paper, we propose a multilevel stochastic framework for the solution of nonconvex unconstrained optimization problems. The proposed approach uses random regularized first-order models that exploit an available hierarchical…
This paper presents the benefits of using randomized neural networks instead of standard basis functions or deep neural networks to approximate the solutions of optimal stopping problems. The key idea is to use neural networks, where the…
The halting problem is undecidable --- but can it be solved for "most" inputs? This natural question was considered in a number of papers, in different settings. We revisit their results and show that most of them can be easily proven in a…
We propose a numerical algorithm for the computation of multi-marginal optimal transport (MMOT) problems involving general probability measures that are not necessarily discrete. By developing a relaxation scheme in which marginal…
We examine a constrained Markov decision process under uncertain transition probabilities, with the uncertainty modeled as deviations from observed transition probabilities. We construct the uncertainty set associated with the deviations…
We propose a model for recoverable robust optimization with commitment. Given a combinatorial optimization problem and uncertainty about elements that may fail, we ask for a robust solution that, after the failing elements are revealed, can…
We study a robust optimal stopping problem with respect to a set $\cP$ of mutually singular probabilities. This can be interpreted as a zero-sum controller-stopper game in which the stopper is trying to maximize its pay-off while an adverse…
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 consider the problem of optimally designing a system for repeated use under uncertainty. We develop a modeling framework that integrates design and operational phases, which are represented by a mixed-integer program and discounted-cost…
This paper presents a new exact method to calculate worst-case parameter realizations in two-stage robust optimization problems with categorical or binary-valued uncertain data. Traditional exact algorithms for these problems, notably…
This paper is devoted to the study of acceleration methods for an inequality constrained convex optimization problem by using Lyapunov functions. We first approximate such a problem as an unconstrained optimization problem by employing the…
This paper examines a variety of classical optimization problems, including well-known minimization tasks and more general variational inequalities. We consider a stochastic formulation of these problems, and unlike most previous work, we…
We present a method for determining optimal modes of operation for autonomously oscillating systems with uncertain parameters. In a typical application of the method, a nonlinear dynamical system is optimized with respect to an economic…
We describe an algorithm for computing the maximal invariant set for a Markov chain with linear safety constraints on the distribution over states. We then propose a Markov chain synthesis method that guarantees finite determination of the…
In this thesis, we focus on some of the NP-hard problems in control theory. Thanks to the converse Lyapunov theory, these problems can often be modeled as optimization over polynomials. To avoid the problem of intractability, we establish a…
This work studies the design of safe control policies for large-scale non-linear systems operating in uncertain environments. In such a case, the robust control framework is a principled approach to safety that aims to maximize the…
In this paper, we present an online reinforcement learning algorithm for constrained Markov decision processes with a safety constraint. Despite the necessary attention of the scientific community, considering stochastic stopping time, the…