Combinatorial optimization is a fascinating topic. Combinatorial optimization problems arise in a wide variety of important fields such as transportation, telecommunications, computer networking, location, planning, distribution problems, etc. Important and significant results have been obtained on the theory, algorithms and applications over the last few decades. In combinatorial optimization, many network design problems can be generalized in a natural way by considering a related problem on a clustered graph, where the original problem's feasibility constraints are expressed in terms of the clusters, i.e., node sets instead of individual nodes. This class of problems is usually referred to as generalized network design problems (GNDPs) or generalized combinatorial optimization problems. The express purpose of this monograph is to describe a series of mathematical models, methods, propositions, algorithms developed in the last years on generalized network design problems in a unified manner. The book consists of seven chapters, where in addition to an introductory chapter, the following generalized network design problems are formulated and examined: the generalized minimum spanning tree problem, the generalized traveling salesman problem, the railway traveling salesman problem, the generalized vehicle routing problem, the generalized fixed-charge network design problem and the generalized minimum vertex-biconnected network problem. The book will be useful for researchers, practitioners, and graduate students in operations research, optimization, applied mathematics and computer science. Due to the substantial practical importance of some presented problems, researchers in other areas will find this book useful, too.

This book explains the most prominent and some promising new, general techniques that combine metaheuristics with other optimization methods. A first introductory chapter reviews the basic principles of local search, prominent metaheuristics, and tree search, dynamic programming, mixed integer linear programming, and constraint programming for combinatorial optimization purposes. The chapters that follow present five generally applicable hybridization strategies, with exemplary case studies on selected problems: incomplete solution representations and decoders; problem instance reduction; large neighborhood search; parallel non-independent construction of solutions within metaheuristics; and hybridization based on complete solution archives. The authors are among the leading researchers in the hybridization of metaheuristics with other techniques for optimization, and their work reflects the broad shift to problem-oriented rather than algorithm-oriented approaches, enabling faster and more effective implementation in real-life applications. This hybridization is not restricted to different variants of metaheuristics but includes, for example, the combination of mathematical programming, dynamic programming, or constraint programming with metaheuristics, reflecting cross-fertilization in fields such as optimization, algorithmics, mathematical modeling, operations research, statistics, and simulation. The book is a valuable introduction and reference for researchers and graduate students in these domains.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 7th International Workshop on Hybrid Metaheuristics, HM 2010, held in Vienna, Austria, in October 2010. The 14 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 29 submissions.

The main goal of this book is to provide a state of the art of hybrid metaheuristics. The book provides a complete background that enables readers to design and implement hybrid metaheuristics to solve complex optimization problems (continuous/discrete, mono-objective/multi-objective, optimization under uncertainty) in a diverse range of application domains. Readers learn to solve large scale problems quickly and efficiently combining metaheuristics with complementary metaheuristics, mathematical programming, constraint programming and machine learning. Numerous real-world examples of problems and solutions demonstrate how hybrid metaheuristics are applied in such fields as networks, logistics and transportation, bio-medical, engineering design, scheduling.

This comprehensive handbook brings together experts who use optimization to solve problems that arise in telecommunications. It is the first book to cover in detail the field of optimization in telecommunications. Recent optimization developments that are frequently applied to telecommunications are covered. The spectrum of topics covered includes planning and design of telecommunication networks, routing, network protection, grooming, restoration, wireless communications, network location and assignment problems, Internet protocol, World Wide Web, and stochastic issues in telecommunications. The book’s objective is to provide a reference tool for the increasing number of scientists and engineers in telecommunications who depend upon optimization.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 10th International Workshop on Hybrid Metaheuristics, HM 2016, held in Plymouth, UK, in June 2016. The 15 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 43 submissions. The selected papers are of interest for all the researchers working on integrating metaheuristics with other areas for solving both optimization and constraint satisfaction problems. They represent as well a sample of current research demonstrating how metaheuristics can be integrated with integer linear programming and other operational research techniques for tackling difficult and relevant problems.