Description
Leader of the group Networks and Optimization: Guido Schäfer.
In today’s society, complex systems surround us. From transport and traffic, to behavioral economics and operations management, real-world applications often demand that we identify simple, optimal solutions among a huge set of possibilities. Our research group Networks and Optimization (N&O) does fundamental research to tackle such challenging optimization problems.
We develop algorithmic methods to solve complex optimization problems efficiently. Our research provides efficient algorithms to some of the most challenging problems, for example, in planning, scheduling and routing. To come up with the best optimization algorithms, we combine and extend techniques from different disciplines in mathematics and computer science.
N&O covers a broad spectrum of optimization aspects. Our expertise ranges from discrete to continuous optimization and applies to centralized and decentralized settings. We focus on both problem-specific methods and universal toolkits to solve different types of optimization problems. The key in our investigations is to understand and exploit combinatorial structures, such as graphs, networks, lattices and matroids. Our research is of high scientific impact and contributes to various fields.
In several cooperations with industry partners, the algorithmic techniques that we develop in our group have proven useful to solve complex real-world problems. We are always interested in new algorithmic challenges arising in real-world applications and are open to new cooperations.
Watch our group video to get a glimpse of our activities.
Video about our collaboration with ProRail (in Dutch)
Vacancies
No vacancies currently.
News
CWI trainee Carla Groenland runner-up in UvA Master Thesis Award 2018
Carla Groenland, UvA alumnus and a trainee at CWI’s Networks & Optimization research group, was chosen as the runner-up in the finale for the UvA Master Thesis Award 2018. In total there were 92 competitors. You can listen to her podcast.
CWI researcher Monique Laurent elected as KNAW member
Researcher and MT member Monique Laurent from Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) was elected as a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). The KNAW announced this on 19 April 2018. KNAW members are prominent scientists who are nominated by fellow researchers within and outside the Academy.
Vici grants for Nikhil Bansal and Roeland Merks
CWI researchers Nikhil Bansal and Roeland Merks have been awarded Vici grants from NWO. With the 1.5 million euro grant, Bansal and Merks can develop their own research lines in the next five years.
CWI and ProRail predict railway incidents
Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica and ProRail recently started a research collaboration in the area of the handling of incidents at the Dutch railways. It concerns a public private partnership between CWI and ProRail striking up a four year period. The research is aimed at prevention and handling of a broad spectrum of railway incidents, like disturbance of the railway infrastructure, people walking on the tracks and collisions.
Members
Associated Members
Publications
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Brokkelkamp, K.R, van Venetië, R., de Vries, M.J, & Westerdiep, J. (2020). PACE Solver Description: tdULL. In 15th International Symposium on Parameterized and Exact Computation. doi:10.4230/LIPIcs.IPEC.2020.29
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Bansal, N, & Spencer, J.H. (2020). On-line balancing of random inputs. Random Structures & Algorithms, 57(4), 879–891. doi:10.1002/rsa.20955
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Slot, L.F.H, & Laurent, M. (2020). Near-optimal analysis of Lasserre’s univariate measure-based bounds for multivariate polynomial optimization. Mathematical Programming. doi:10.1007/s10107-020-01586-y
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Dadush, D.N, & Tiwari, S.S.K. (2020). On the complexity of branching proofs. In Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics, LIPIcs. doi:10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2020.34
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Bansal, N, & Meka, R. (2020). On the discrepancy of random low degree set systems. Random Structures & Algorithms, 57(3). doi:10.1002/rsa.20935
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Bansal, N, Jiang, H, Singla, S, & Sinha, M. (2020). Online vector balancing and geometric discrepancy. In Proceedings of the Annual ACM Symposium on Theory of Computing (pp. 1139–1152). doi:10.1145/3357713.3384280
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Dadush, D.N, Végh, L.A, & Zambelli, G. (2020). Rescaling algorithms for linear conic feasibility. Mathematics of Operations Research, 45(2), 732–754. doi:10.1287/moor.2019.1011
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Huizing, D, Schäfer, G, van der Mei, R.D, & Bhulai, S. (2020). The median routing problem for simultaneous planning of emergency response and non-emergency jobs. European Journal of Operational Research. doi:10.1016/j.ejor.2020.02.002
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de Klerk, E, & Laurent, M. (2020). Convergence analysis of a Lasserre hierarchy of upper bounds for polynomial minimization on the sphere. Mathematical Programming, 2020. doi:10.1007/s10107-019-01465-1
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Abiad, A, Gribling, S.J, Lahaye, D.J.P, Mnich, M, Regts, G, Vena, L, … Zwaneveld, P.J. (2020). On the complexity of solving a decision problem with flow-depending costs: The case of the IJsselmeer dikes. Discrete Optimization. doi:10.1016/j.disopt.2019.100565
Current projects with external funding
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Continuous Methods in Discrete Optimization ()
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Wiskundecluster DIAMANT ()
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Smart Heuristic Problem Optimization
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Mixed-Integer Non-Linear Optimisation Applications (MINOA)
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Optimization for and with Machine Learning (OPTIMAL)
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Polynomial Optimization, Efficiency through Moments and Algebra (POEMA)
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Vóórkomen en voorkómen van incidenten op het spoor (PPS Prorail)
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Towards a Quantitative Theory of Integer Programming (QIP)
Related partners
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Alma Mater Studiorum-Universita di Bologna
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Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt
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CNR Pisa
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CNRS
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Dassault Systèmes B.V.
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IBM
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INRIA
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Prorail
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Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelmus Universitaet Bonn
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Technische Universität Dortmund
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Tilburg University
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Tromsø, Norway
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Universita degli Studi di Firenze
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Universität Konstanz
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University of Birmingham
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Universiteit van Tilburg