This book reviews the state-of-the-art developments in nature-inspired algorithms and their applications in various disciplines, ranging from feature selection and engineering design optimization to scheduling and vehicle routing. It introduces each algorithm and its implementation with case studies as well as extensive literature reviews, and also includes self-contained chapters featuring theoretical analyses, such as convergence analysis and no-free-lunch theorems so as to provide insights into the current nature-inspired optimization algorithms. Topics include ant colony optimization, the bat algorithm, B-spline curve fitting, cuckoo search, feature selection, economic load dispatch, the firefly algorithm, the flower pollination algorithm, knapsack problem, octonian and quaternion representations, particle swarm optimization, scheduling, wireless networks, vehicle routing with time windows, and maximally different alternatives. This timely book serves as a practical guide and reference resource for students, researchers and professionals.

This book presents the basics of linear and nonlinear optimization analysis for both single and multi-objective problems in hydrosystem engineering. The book includes several examples with various levels of complexity in different fields of water resources engineering. The examples are solved step by step to assist the reader and to make it easier to understand the concepts. In addition, the latest tools and methods are presented to help students, researchers, engineers and water managers to properly conceptualize and formulate resource allocation problems, and to deal with the complexity of constraints in water demand and available supplies in an appropriate way. "

This book introduces a new paradigm called 'Optimization in Changeable Spaces' (OCS) as a useful tool for decision making and problem solving. It illustrates how OCS incorporates, searches, and constructively restructures the parameters, tangible and intangible, involved in the process of decision making. The book elaborates on OCS problems that can be modeled and solved effectively by using the concepts of competence set analysis, Habitual Domain (HD) and the mental operators called the 7-8-9 principles of deep knowledge of HD. In addition, new concepts of covering and discovering processes are proposed and formulated as mathematical tools to solve OCS problems. The book also includes reformulations of a number of illustrative real-life challenging problems that cannot be solved by traditional optimization techniques into OCS problems, and details how they can be addressed. Beyond that, it also includes perspectives related to innovation dynamics, management, artificial intelligence, artificial and e-economics, scientific discovery and knowledge extraction. This book will be of interest to managers of businesses and institutions, policy makers, and educators and students of decision making and behavior in DBA and/or MBA.

Current research results in stochastic and deterministic global optimization including single and multiple objectives are explored and presented in this book by leading specialists from various fields. Contributions include applications to multidimensional data visualization, regression, survey calibration, inventory management, timetabling, chemical engineering, energy systems, and competitive facility location. Graduate students, researchers, and scientists in computer science, numerical analysis, optimization, and applied mathematics will be fascinated by the theoretical, computational, and application-oriented aspects of stochastic and deterministic global optimization explored in this book. This volume is dedicated to the 70th birthday of Antanas Zilinskas who is a leading world expert in global optimization. Professor Zilinskas's research has concentrated on studying models for the objective function, the development and implementation of efficient algorithms for global optimization with single and multiple objectives, and application of algorithms for solving real-world practical problems.

This book gathers threads that have evolved across different mathematical disciplines into seamless narrative. It deals with condition as a main aspect in the understanding of the performance ---regarding both stability and complexity--- of numerical algorithms. While the role of condition was shaped in the last half-century, so far there has not been a monograph treating this subject in a uniform and systematic way. The book puts special emphasis on the probabilistic analysis of numerical algorithms via the analysis of the corresponding condition. The exposition's level increases along the book, starting in the context of linear algebra at an undergraduate level and reaching in its third part the recent developments and partial solutions for Smale's 17th problem which can be explained within a graduate course. Its middle part contains a condition-based course on linear programming that fills a gap between the current elementary expositions of the subject based on the simplex method and those focusing on convex programming.

This book makes available a self-contained collection of modern research addressing the general constrained optimization problems using evolutionary algorithms. Broadly the topics covered include constraint handling for single and multi-objective optimizations; penalty function based methodology; multi-objective based methodology; new constraint handling mechanism; hybrid methodology; scaling issues in constrained optimization; design of scalable test problems; parameter adaptation in constrained optimization; handling of integer, discrete and mix variables in addition to continuous variables; application of constraint handling techniques to real-world problems; and constrained optimization in dynamic environment. There is also a separate chapter on hybrid optimization, which is gaining lots of popularity nowadays due to its capability of bridging the gap between evolutionary and classical optimization. The material in the book is useful to researchers, novice, and experts alike. The book will also be useful for classroom teaching and future research.

Computational complexity is a serious bottleneck for the design process in virtually any engineering area. While migration from prototyping and experimental-based design validation to verification using computer simulation models is inevitable and has a number of advantages, high computational costs of accurate, high-fidelity simulations can be a major issue that slows down the development of computer-aided design methodologies, particularly those exploiting automated design improvement procedures, e.g., numerical optimization. The continuous increase of available computational resources does not always translate into shortening of the design cycle because of the growing demand for higher accuracy and necessity to simulate larger and more complex systems. Accurate simulation of a single design of a given system may be as long as several hours, days or even weeks, which often makes design automation using conventional methods impractical or even prohibitive. Additional problems include numerical noise often present in the simulation data, possible presence of multiple locally optimum designs, as well as multiple conflicting objectives. In this edited book, various techniques that can alleviate solving computationally expensive engineering design problems are presented. One of the most promising approaches is the use of fast replacement models, so-called surrogates, that reliably represent the expensive, simulation-based model of the system/device of interest but they are much cheaper and analytically tractable. Here, a group of international experts summarize recent developments in the area and demonstrate applications in various disciplines of engineering and science. The main purpose of the work is to provide the basic concepts and formulations of the surrogate-based modeling and optimization paradigm, as well as discuss relevant modeling techniques, optimization algorithms and design procedures. Therefore, this book should be useful to researchers and engineers from any discipline where computationally heavy simulations are used on daily basis in the design process.

This book presents a novel framework, known as Active Robust Optimization, which provides the tools for evaluating, comparing and optimizing changeable products. Since any product that can change its configuration during normal operation may be considered a "changeable product," the framework is widely applicable. Further, the methodology enables designers to use adaptability to deal with uncertainties and so avoid over-conservative designs. Offering a comprehensive overview of the framework, including its unique features, such as its ability to optimally respond to uncertain situations, the book also defines a new class of optimization problem and examines the effects of changes in various parameters on their solution. Lastly, it discusses innovative approaches for solving the problem and demonstrates these with two examples from different fields in engineering design: optimization of an optical table and optimization of a gearbox.

Optimization problems subject to constraints governed by partial differential equations (PDEs) are among the most challenging problems in the context of industrial, economical and medical applications. Almost the entire range of problems in this field of research was studied and further explored as part of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) priority program 1253 on "Optimization with Partial Differential Equations" from 2006 to 2013. The investigations were motivated by the fascinating potential applications and challenging mathematical problems that arise in the field of PDE constrained optimization. New analytic and algorithmic paradigms have been developed, implemented and validated in the context of real-world applications. In this special volume, contributions from more than fifteen German universities combine the results of this interdisciplinary program with a focus on applied mathematics. The book is divided into five sections on "Constrained Optimization, Identification and Control", "Shape and Topology Optimization", "Adaptivity and Model Reduction", "Discretization: Concepts and Analysis" and "Applications". Peer-reviewed research articles present the most recent results in the field of PDE constrained optimization and control problems. Informative survey articles give an overview of topics that set sustainable trends for future research. This makes this special volume interesting not only for mathematicians, but also for engineers and for natural and medical scientists working on processes that can be modeled by PDEs.

Using network models to investigate the interconnectivity in modern economic systems allows researchers to better understand and explain some economic phenomena. This volume presents contributions by known experts and active researchers in economic and financial network modeling. Readers are provided with an understanding of the latest advances in network analysis as applied to economics, finance, corporate governance, and investments. Moreover, recent advances in market network analysis that focus on influential techniques for market graph analysis are also examined. Young researchers will find this volume particularly useful in facilitating their introduction to this new and fascinating field. Professionals in economics, financial management, various technologies, and network analysis, will find the network models presented in this book beneficial in analyzing the interconnectivity in modern economic systems.

The volume will consist of about 40 articles written by some very influential mathematicians of our time and will expose the latest achievements in the broad area of nonlinear analysis and its various interdisciplinary applications.

The present volume contains invited talks of 11th biennial conference on "Emerging Mathematical Methods, Models and Algorithms for Science and Technology". The main message of the book is that mathematics has a great potential to analyse and understand the challenging problems of nanotechnology, biotechnology, medical science, oil industry and financial technology. The book highlights all the features and main theme discussed in the conference. All contributing authors are eminent academicians, scientists, researchers and scholars in their respective fields, hailing from around the world.

The purpose of this contributed volume is to provide a primary resource for anyone interested in fixed point theory with a metric flavor. The book presents information for those wishing to find results that might apply to their own work and for those wishing to obtain a deeper understanding of the theory. The book should be of interest to a wide range of researchers in mathematical analysis as well as to those whose primary interest is the study of fixed point theory and the underlying spaces. The level of exposition is directed to a wide audience, including students and established researchers. Key topics covered include Banach contraction theorem, hyperconvex metric spaces, modular function spaces, fixed point theory in ordered sets, topological fixed point theory for set-valued maps, coincidence theorems, Lefschetz and Nielsen theories, systems of nonlinear inequalities, iterative methods for fixed point problems, and the Ekeland's variational principle.

This volume contains two types of papers-a selection of contributions from the "Second International Conference in Network Analysis" held in Nizhny Novgorod on May 7-9, 2012, and papers submitted to an "open call for papers" reflecting the activities of LATNA at the Higher School for Economics. This volume contains many new results in modeling and powerful algorithmic solutions applied to problems in * vehicle routing * single machine scheduling * modern financial markets * cell formation in group technology * brain activities of left- and right-handers * speeding up algorithms for the maximum clique problem * analysis and applications of different measures in clustering The broad range of applications that can be described and analyzed by means of a network brings together researchers, practitioners, and other scientific communities from numerous fields such as Operations Research, Computer Science, Transportation, Energy, Social Sciences, and more. The contributions not only come from different fields, but also cover a broad range of topics relevant to the theory and practice of network analysis. Researchers, students, and engineers from various disciplines will benefit from the state-of-the-art in models, algorithms, technologies, and techniques presented.

This book provides an introduction to vector optimization with variable ordering structures, i.e., to optimization problems with a vector-valued objective function where the elements in the objective space are compared based on a variable ordering structure: instead of a partial ordering defined by a convex cone, we see a whole family of convex cones, one attached to each element of the objective space. The book starts by presenting several applications that have recently sparked new interest in these optimization problems, and goes on to discuss fundamentals and important results on a wide range of topics. The theory developed includes various optimality notions, linear and nonlinear scalarization functionals, optimality conditions of Fermat and Lagrange type, existence and duality results. The book closes with a collection of numerical approaches for solving these problems in practice.

This invaluable book provides approximately eighty examples illustrating the theory of controlled discrete-time Markov processes. Except for applications of the theory to real-life problems like stock exchange, queues, gambling, optimal search etc, the main attention is paid to counter-intuitive, unexpected properties of optimization problems. Such examples illustrate the importance of conditions imposed in the theorems on Markov Decision Processes. Many of the examples are based upon examples published earlier in journal articles or textbooks while several other examples are new. The aim was to collect them together in one reference book which should be considered as a complement to existing monographs on Markov decision processes.The book is self-contained and unified in presentation.The main theoretical statements and constructions are provided, and particular examples can be read independently of others. Examples in Markov Decision Processes is an essential source of reference for mathematicians and all those who apply the optimal control theory to practical purposes. When studying or using mathematical methods, the researcher must understand what can happen if some of the conditions imposed in rigorous theorems are not satisfied. Many examples confirming the importance of such conditions were published in different journal articles which are often difficult to find. This book brings together examples based upon such sources, along with several new ones. In addition, it indicates the areas where Markov decision processes can be used. Active researchers can refer to this book on applicability of mathematical methods and theorems. It is also suitable reading for graduate and research students where they will better understand the theory.

This proceedings volume addresses advances in global optimization a multidisciplinary research field that deals with the analysis, characterization and computation of global minima and/or maxima of nonlinear, non-convex and nonsmooth functions in continuous or discrete forms. The volume contains selected papers from the third biannual World Congress on Global Optimization in Engineering & Science (WCGO), held in the Yellow Mountains, Anhui, China on July 8-12, 2013. The papers fall into eight topical sections: mathematical programming; combinatorial optimization; duality theory; topology optimization; variational inequalities and complementarity problems; numerical optimization; stochastic models and simulation and complex simulation and supply chain analysis."

This volume contains a selection of contributions that were presented at the Modeling and Optimization: Theory and Applications Conference (MOPTA) held at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA on July 30-August 1, 2012. The conference brought together a diverse group of researchers and practitioners, working on both theoretical and practical aspects of continuous or discrete optimization. Topics presented included algorithms for solving convex, network, mixed-integer, nonlinear, and global optimization problems, and addressed the application of optimization techniques in finance, logistics, health, and other important fields. The contributions contained in this volume represent a sample of these topics and applications and illustrate the broad diversity of ideas discussed at the meeting.

This book presents the latest research advances in complex network structure analytics based on computational intelligence (CI) approaches, particularly evolutionary optimization. Most if not all network issues are actually optimization problems, which are mostly NP-hard and challenge conventional optimization techniques. To effectively and efficiently solve these hard optimization problems, CI based network structure analytics offer significant advantages over conventional network analytics techniques. Meanwhile, using CI techniques may facilitate smart decision making by providing multiple options to choose from, while conventional methods can only offer a decision maker a single suggestion. In addition, CI based network structure analytics can greatly facilitate network modeling and analysis. And employing CI techniques to resolve network issues is likely to inspire other fields of study such as recommender systems, system biology, etc., which will in turn expand CI's scope and applications. As a comprehensive text, the book covers a range of key topics, including network community discovery, evolutionary optimization, network structure balance analytics, network robustness analytics, community-based personalized recommendation, influence maximization, and biological network alignment. Offering a rich blend of theory and practice, the book is suitable for students, researchers and practitioners interested in network analytics and computational intelligence, both as a textbook and as a reference work.

This book presents new optimization approaches and methods and their application in real-world and industrial problems, and demonstrates how many of the problems arising in engineering, economics and other domains can be formulated as optimization problems. Constituting a comprehensive collection of extended contributions from the 9th International Workshop on Computational Optimization (WCO) held in Gdansk, Poland, September 11-14, 2016, the book discusses important applications such as job scheduling, wildfire modeling, parameter settings for controlling different processes, capital budgeting, data mining, finding the location of sensors in a given network, identifying the conformation of molecules, algorithm correctness, decision support system, and computer memory management. Further, it shows how to develop algorithms for these based on new intelligent methods like evolutionary computations, ant colony optimization and constraint programming. The book is a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners alike.

Mathematical inequalities are essential tools in mathematics, natural science and engineering. This book gives an overview on recent advances. Some generalizations and improvements for the classical and well-known inequalities are described. They will be applied and further developed in many fields. Applications of the inequalities to entropy theory and quantum physics are also included.

This book presents powerful techniques for solving global optimization problems on manifolds by means of evolutionary algorithms, and shows in practice how these techniques can be applied to solve real-world problems. It describes recent findings and well-known key facts in general and differential topology, revisiting them all in the context of application to current optimization problems. Special emphasis is put on game theory problems. Here, these problems are reformulated as constrained global optimization tasks and solved with the help of Fuzzy ASA. In addition, more abstract examples, including minimizations of well-known functions, are also included. Although the Fuzzy ASA approach has been chosen as the main optimizing paradigm, the book suggests that other metaheuristic methods could be used as well. Some of them are introduced, together with their advantages and disadvantages. Readers should possess some knowledge of linear algebra, and of basic concepts of numerical analysis and probability theory. Many necessary definitions and fundamental results are provided, with the formal mathematical requirements limited to a minimum, while the focus is kept firmly on continuous problems. The book offers a valuable resource for students, researchers and practitioners. It is suitable for university courses on optimization and for self-study.

This book reports the latest findings on intelligent energy management of Internet data centers in smart-grid environments. The book gathers novel research ideas in Internet data center energy management, especially scenarios with cyber-related vulnerabilities, power outages and carbon emission constraints. The book will be of interest to university researchers, R&D engineers and graduate students in communication and networking areas who wish to learn the core principles, methods, algorithms, and applications of energy management of Internet data centers in smart grids.

This volume presents five surveys with extensive bibliographies and six original contributions on set optimization and its applications in mathematical finance and game theory. The topics range from more conventional approaches that look for minimal/maximal elements with respect to vector orders or set relations, to the new complete-lattice approach that comprises a coherent solution concept for set optimization problems, along with existence results, duality theorems, optimality conditions, variational inequalities and theoretical foundations for algorithms. Modern approaches to scalarization methods can be found as well as a fundamental contribution to conditional analysis. The theory is tailor-made for financial applications, in particular risk evaluation and [super-]hedging for market models with transaction costs, but it also provides a refreshing new perspective on vector optimization. There is no comparable volume on the market, making the book an invaluable resource for researchers working in vector optimization and multi-criteria decision-making, mathematical finance and economics as well as [set-valued] variational analysis.