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Bayesian optimization (BO) is a popular method for efficiently inferring optima of an expensive black-box function via a sequence of queries. Existing information-theoretic BO procedures aim to make queries that most reduce the uncertainty…
This paper addresses the estimation of parameters of a Bayesian network from incomplete data. The task is usually tackled by running the Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm several times in order to obtain a high log-likelihood…
Bayesian optimization (BO) is a widely used iterative algorithm for optimizing black-box functions. Each iteration requires maximizing an acquisition function, such as the upper confidence bound (UCB) or a sample path from the Gaussian…
Many real-world optimisation problems such as hyperparameter tuning in machine learning or simulation-based optimisation can be formulated as expensive-to-evaluate black-box functions. A popular approach to tackle such problems is Bayesian…
Randomized experiments are the gold standard for evaluating the effects of changes to real-world systems. Data in these tests may be difficult to collect and outcomes may have high variance, resulting in potentially large measurement error.…
Many real-life decision-making situations allow further relevant information to be acquired at a specific cost, for example, in assessing the health status of a patient we may decide to take additional measurements such as diagnostic tests…
This dissertation shows that careful injection of noise into sample data can substantially speed up Expectation-Maximization algorithms. Expectation-Maximization algorithms are a class of iterative algorithms for extracting maximum…
Global optimisation to optimise expensive-to-evaluate black-box functions without gradient information. Bayesian optimisation, one of the most well-known techniques, typically employs Gaussian processes as surrogate models, leveraging their…
We propose an algorithm for a family of optimization problems where the objective can be decomposed as a sum of functions with monotonicity properties. The motivating problem is optimization of hyperparameters of machine learning…
Experimental (design) optimization is a key driver in designing and discovering new products and processes. Bayesian Optimization (BO) is an effective tool for optimizing expensive and black-box experimental design processes. While Bayesian…
Bayesian optimization is a sequential method for minimizing objective functions that are expensive to evaluate and about which few assumptions can be made. By using all gathered data to train a Gaussian process model for the function and…
Bayesian optimization is a sample-efficient method for black-box global optimization. How- ever, the performance of a Bayesian optimization method very much depends on its exploration strategy, i.e. the choice of acquisition function, and…
We propose a novel Bayesian method to solve the maximization of a time-dependent expensive-to-evaluate oracle. We are interested in the decision that maximizes the oracle at a finite time horizon, when relatively few noisy evaluations can…
Deterministic computer simulations are often used as a replacement for complex physical experiments. Although less expensive than physical experimentation, computer codes can still be time-consuming to run. An effective strategy for…
The generation of decision-theoretic Bayesian optimal designs is complicated by the significant computational challenge of minimising an analytically intractable expected loss function over a, potentially, high-dimensional design space. A…
Bilevel optimization, a hierarchical mathematical framework where one optimization problem is nested within another, has emerged as a powerful tool for modeling complex decision-making processes in various fields such as economics,…
An augmented Lagrangian (AL) can convert a constrained optimization problem into a sequence of simpler (e.g., unconstrained) problems, which are then usually solved with local solvers. Recently, surrogate-based Bayesian optimization (BO)…
Many cosmological models have only a finite number of parameters of interest, but a very expensive data-generating process and an intractable likelihood function. We address the problem of performing likelihood-free Bayesian inference from…
Bayesian optimization has emerged as a strong candidate tool for global optimization of functions with expensive evaluation costs. However, due to the dynamic nature of research in Bayesian approaches, and the evolution of computing…
Bayesian optimization (BO) is a popular approach for expensive black-box optimization, with applications including parameter tuning, experimental design, robotics. BO usually models the objective function by a Gaussian process (GP), and…