Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs) have grown into a mature field of research in optimization, and have proven to be effective and robust problem solvers for a broad range of static real-world optimization problems. Yet, since they are based on the principles of natural evolution, and since natural evolution is a dynamic process in a changing environment, EAs are also well suited to dynamic optimization problems. Evolutionary Optimization in Dynamic Environments is the first comprehensive work on the application of EAs to dynamic optimization problems. It provides an extensive survey on research in the area and shows how EAs can be successfully used to * continuously and efficiently adapt a solution to a changing environment, * find a good trade-off between solution quality and adaptation cost, * find robust solutions whose quality is insensitive to changes in the environment, * find flexible solutions which are not only good but that can be easily adapted when necessary. All four aspects are treated in this book, providing a holistic view on the challenges and opportunities when applying EAs to dynamic optimization problems.The comprehensive and up-to-date coverage of the subject, together with details of latest original research, makes Evolutionary Optimization in Dynamic Environments an invaluable resource for researchers and professionals who are dealing with dynamic and stochastic optimization problems, and who are interested in applying local search heuristics, such as evolutionary algorithms.

This LNCS volume contains the papers presented at SEAL 2008, the 7th Int- nationalConference on Simulated Evolutionand Learning, held December 7-10, 2008, in Melbourne, Australia. SEAL is a prestigious international conference series in evolutionary computation and learning. This biennial event was ?rst held in Seoul, Korea, in 1996, and then in Canberra, Australia (1998), Nagoya, Japan (2000), Singapore (2002), Busan, Korea (2004), and Hefei, China (2006). SEAL 2008 received 140 paper submissions from more than 30 countries. After a rigorous peer-review process involving at least 3 reviews for each paper (i.e., over 420 reviews in total), the best 65 papers were selected to be presented at the conference and included in this volume, resulting in an acceptance rate of about 46%. The papers included in this volume cover a wide range of topics in simulated evolution and learning: from evolutionarylearning to evolutionary optimization, from hybrid systems to adaptive systems, from theoretical issues to real-world applications. They represent some of the latest and best research in simulated evolution and learning in the world

Multiobjective optimization deals with solving problems having not only one, but multiple, often conflicting, criteria. Such problems can arise in practically every field of science, engineering and business, and the need for efficient and reliable solution methods is increasing. The task is challenging due to the fact that, instead of a single optimal solution, multiobjective optimization results in a number of solutions with different trade-offs among criteria, also known as Pareto optimal or efficient solutions. Hence, a decision maker is needed to provide additional preference information and to identify the most satisfactory solution. Depending on the paradigm used, such information may be introduced before, during, or after the optimization process. Clearly, research and application in multiobjective optimization involve expertise in optimization as well as in decision support.

This state-of-the-art survey originates from the International Seminar on Practical Approaches to Multiobjective Optimization, held in Dagstuhl Castle, Germany, in December 2006, which brought together leading experts from various contemporary multiobjective optimization fields, including evolutionary multiobjective optimization (EMO), multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) and multiple criteria decision aiding (MCDA).

This book gives a unique and detailed account of the current status of research and applications in the field of multiobjective optimization. It contains 16 chapters grouped in the following 5 thematic sections: Basics on Multiobjective Optimization; Recent Interactive and Preference-Based Approaches; Visualization of Solutions; Modelling, Implementation and Applications; and Quality Assessment, Learning, and Future Challenges.

This book presents the refereed joint proceedings of seven workshops on evolutionary computing, EvoWorkshops 2006, held in Budapest in April 2006. 65 revised full papers and 13 revised short papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from a total of 149 submissions. The book is organized in topical sections including evolutionary bioinformatics, evolutionary computation in communications, networks, and connected systems, and more.

Evolutionary computation (EC) techniques are e?cient nature-inspired pl- ning and optimization methods based on the principles of natural evolution and genetics. Due to their e?ciency and the simple underlying principles, these methods can be used for a large number of problems in the context of problem solving, optimization, andmachinelearning. Alargeandcontinuouslyincreasing number of researchers and practitioners make use of EC techniques in many - plication domains. The book at hand presents a careful selection of relevant EC applications combined with thorough examinations of techniques for a successful application of EC. The presented papers illustrate the current state of the art in the application of EC and should help and inspire researchers and practitioners to develop e?cient EC methods for design and problem solving. All papers in this book were presented during EvoWorkshops 2005, which was a varying collection of workshops on application-oriented aspects of EC. Since 1999, the format of the EvoWorkshops has proved to be very successful and well representative of the advances in the application of EC. Consequently, over the last few years, EvoWorkshops has become one of the major events addressing the application of EC. In contrast to other large conferences in the EC ?eld, the EvoWorkshops focus solely on application aspects of EC and are an important link between EC research and the application of EC in a large variety of di?erent domain

Evolutionary Computation (EC) deals with problem solving, optimization, and machine learning techniques inspired by principles of natural evolution and - netics. Just from this basic de?nition, it is clear that one of the main features of theresearchcommunityinvolvedinthestudyofitstheoryandinitsapplications is multidisciplinarity. For this reason, EC has been able to draw the attention of an ever-increasing number of researchers and practitioners in several ?elds. In its 6-year-long activity, EvoNet, the European Network of Excellence in Evolutionary Computing, has been the natural reference and incubator for that multifaceted community. EvoNet has provided logistic and material support for thosewhowerealreadyinvolvedinECbut, inthe?rstplace, ithashadacritical role in favoring the signi?cant growth of the EC community and its interactions with longer-established ones. The main instrument that has made this possible has been the series of events, ?rst organized in 1998, that have spanned over both theoretical and practical aspects of EC. Ever since 1999, the present format, in which the EvoWorkshops, a collection of workshops on the most application-oriented aspects of EC, act as satellites of a core event, has proven to be very successful and very representative of the multi-disciplinarity of EC. Up to 2003, the core was represented by EuroGP, the main European event dedicated to Genetic Programming. EuroGP has been joined as the main event in 2004 by EvoCOP, formerly part of EvoWorkshops, which has become the European Conference on Evolutionary Computation in Combinatorial Optimizatio

Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs) have grown into a mature field of research in optimization, and have proven to be effective and robust problem solvers for a broad range of static real-world optimization problems. Yet, since they are based on the principles of natural evolution, and since natural evolution is a dynamic process in a changing environment, EAs are also well suited to dynamic optimization problems. Evolutionary Optimization in Dynamic Environments is the first comprehensive work on the application of EAs to dynamic optimization problems. It provides an extensive survey on research in the area and shows how EAs can be successfully used to continuously and efficiently adapt a solution to a changing environment, find a good trade-off between solution quality and adaptation cost, find robust solutions whose quality is insensitive to changes in the environment, find flexible solutions which are not only good but that can be easily adapted when necessary. All four aspects are treated in this book, providing a holistic view on the challenges and opportunities when applying EAs to dynamic optimization problems. The comprehensive and up-to-date coverage of the subject, together with details of latest original research, makes Evolutionary Optimization in Dynamic Environments an invaluable resource for researchers and professionals who are dealing with dynamic and stochastic optimization problems, and who are interested in applying local search heuristics, such as evolutionary algorithms.