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As we know, some global optimization problems cannot be solved using analytic methods, so numeric/algorithmic approaches are used to find near to the optimal solutions for them. A stochastic global optimization algorithm (SGoal) is an…
This paper investigates the problem of tracking solutions of stochastic optimization problems with time-varying costs that depend on random variables with decision-dependent distributions. In this context, we propose the use of an online…
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…
We present an optimization-based method to plan the motion of an autonomous robot under the uncertainties associated with dynamic obstacles, such as humans. Our method bounds the marginal risk of collisions at each point in time by…
The purpose of this report is to present the Crossdock Door Assignment Problem, which involves assigning destinations to outbound dock doors of Crossdock centres such that travel distance by material handling equipment is minimized. We…
We develop algorithms capable of tackling robust black-box optimisation problems, where the number of model runs is limited. When a desired solution cannot be implemented exactly the aim is to find a robust one, where the worst case in an…
Over the last decade, concepts such as industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things (IoT) have contributed to the increase in the availability and affordability of sensing technology. In this context, Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) arises as…
Bayesian optimization (BO) is a sequential approach for optimizing black-box objective functions using zeroth-order noisy observations. In BO, Gaussian processes (GPs) are employed as probabilistic surrogate models to estimate the objective…
Bayesian optimization (BO) algorithms form a class of surrogate-based heuristics, aimed at efficiently computing high-quality solutions for numerical black-box optimization problems. The BO pipeline is highly modular, with different design…
Because of its sample efficiency, Bayesian optimization (BO) has become a popular approach dealing with expensive black-box optimization problems, such as hyperparameter optimization (HPO). Recent empirical experiments showed that the loss…
Modern stochastic optimization pipelines increasingly rely on learned generative models to represent uncertainty, while downstream decisions are evaluated almost entirely through Monte Carlo scenarios. This shifts the operational object of…
Several fundamental problems in science and engineering consist of global optimization tasks involving unknown high-dimensional (black-box) functions that map a set of controllable variables to the outcomes of an expensive experiment.…
A multiple objective simulation optimization algorithm named Multiple Objective Probabilistic Branch and Bound with Single Observation (MOPBnB(so)) is presented for approximating the Pareto optimal set and the associated efficient frontier…
This dissertation addresses the growing challenge of air traffic flow management by proposing a simulation-based optimization (SbO) approach for multi-objective runway operations scheduling. The goal is to optimize airport capacity…
The exploration of novel architectures requires physics-based simulation due to a lack of prior experience to start from, which introduces two specific challenges for optimization algorithms: evaluations become more expensive (in time) and…
In this paper, a new sequential surrogate-based optimization (SSBO) algorithm is developed, which aims to improve the global search ability and local search efficiency for the global optimization of expensive black-box models. The proposed…
In complex real-world settings, optimization is challenged by the presence of diverse models of differing fidelity. In many optimization problems, a single model is treated as the most accurate representation of the underlying system, while…
This paper considers deployment problems where a mobile robotic network must optimize its configuration in a distributed way in order to minimize a steady-state cost function that depends on the spatial distribution of certain probabilistic…
Population-based metaheuristic algorithms are powerful tools in the design of neutron scattering instruments and the use of these types of algorithms for this purpose is becoming more and more commonplace. Today there exists a wide range of…
Simulation Optimization (SO) refers to the optimization of an objective function subject to constraints, both of which can be evaluated through a stochastic simulation. To address specific features of a particular simulation---discrete or…