EIDMA mini-course Algebraic Optimization and Semidefinite Programming by Pablo Parrilo (MIT) at CWI, room L016.
This minicourse will focus on theoretical and computational techniques for optimization problems with algebraic structure (in particular, those involving polynomial equations and inequalities), emphasizing the connections with techniques based on semidefinite programming (SDP).
The course will develop in a parallel fashion several algebraic and numerical approaches to polynomial systems, with a view towards methods that simultaneously incorporate both elements.

We will study both the complex and real cases, developing techniques of general applicability, and stressing convexity-based ideas, complexity results, and efficient implementations.
We will use examples from several applied math and engineering areas, including systems and control, geometric theorem proving, and classical and quantum information theory.
Among the topics covered we will have: semidefinite relaxations, sum of squares representations, hyperbolic polynomials, SDP representability of convex sets, complex and real Nullstellensatz, convex algebraic geometry, sparsity and rank minimization problems, etc. 

Registration is open till May 6, 2010. For details please consult the EIDMA webpage: http://www.win.tue.nl/math/eidma/  and the page
http://homepages.cwi.nl/~monique/eidma-seminar-parrilo/