This proceedings volume highlights the state-of-the-art knowledge related to optimization, decisions science and problem solving methods, as well as their application in industrial and territorial systems. It includes contributions tackling these themes using models and methods based on continuous and discrete optimization, network optimization, simulation and system dynamics, heuristics, metaheuristics, artificial intelligence, analytics, and also multiple-criteria decision making. The number and the increasing size of the problems arising in real life require mathematical models and solution methods adequate to their complexity. There has also been increasing research interest in Big Data and related challenges. These challenges can be recognized in many fields and systems which have a significant impact on our way of living: design, management and control of industrial production of goods and services; transportation planning and traffic management in urban and regional areas; energy production and exploitation; natural resources and environment protection; homeland security and critical infrastructure protection; development of advanced information and communication technologies. The chapters in this book examine how to deal with new and emerging practical problems arising in these different fields through the presented methodologies and their applications. The chapter topics are applicable for researchers and practitioners working in these areas, but also for the operations research community. The contributions were presented during the international conference “Optimization and Decision Science” (ODS2017), held at Hilton Sorrento Palace Conference Center, Sorrento, Italy, September 4 – 7, 2017. ODS 2017, was organized by AIRO, Italian Operations Research Society, in cooperation with DIETI (Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology) of University “Federico II” of Naples.

A guide to modern optimization applications and techniques in newly emerging areas spanning optimization, data science, machine intelligence, engineering, and computer sciences Optimization Techniques and Applications with Examples introduces the fundamentals of all the commonly used techniques in optimization that encompass the broadness and diversity of the methods (traditional and new) and algorithms. The author—a noted expert in the field—covers a wide range of topics including mathematical foundations, optimization formulation, optimality conditions, algorithmic complexity, linear programming, convex optimization, and integer programming. In addition, the book discusses artificial neural network, clustering and classifications, constraint-handling, queueing theory, support vector machine and multi-objective optimization, evolutionary computation, nature-inspired algorithms and many other topics. Designed as a practical resource, all topics are explained in detail with step-by-step examples to show how each method works. The book’s exercises test the acquired knowledge that can be potentially applied to real problem solving. By taking an informal approach to the subject, the author helps readers to rapidly acquire the basic knowledge in optimization, operational research, and applied data mining. This important resource: Offers an accessible and state-of-the-art introduction to the main optimization techniques Contains both traditional optimization techniques and the most current algorithms and swarm intelligence-based techniques Presents a balance of theory, algorithms, and implementation Includes more than 100 worked examples with step-by-step explanations Written for upper undergraduates and graduates in a standard course on optimization, operations research and data mining, Optimization Techniques and Applications with Examples is a highly accessible guide to understanding the fundamentals of all the commonly used techniques in optimization.

This book collects selected contributions from the international conference “Optimization and Decision Science” (ODS2020), which was held online on November 19, 2020, and organized by AIRO, the Italian Operations Research Society. The book offers new and original contributions on optimization, decisions science and prescriptive analytics from both a methodological and applied perspective, using models and methods based on continuous and discrete optimization, graph theory and network optimization, analytics, multiple criteria decision making, heuristics, metaheuristics, and exact methods. In addition to more theoretical contributions, the book chapters describe models and methods for addressing a wide diversity of real-world applications, spanning health, transportation, logistics, public sector, manufacturing, and emergency management. Although the book is aimed primarily at researchers and PhD students in the Operations Research community, the interdisciplinary content makes it interesting for practitioners facing complex decision-making problems in the afore-mentioned areas, as well as for scholars and researchers from other disciplines, including artificial intelligence, computer sciences, economics, mathematics, and engineering.

Statistics help guide us to optimal decisions under uncertainty. A large variety of statistical problems are essentially solutions to optimization problems. The mathematical techniques of optimization are fundamentalto statistical theory and practice. In this book, Jagdish Rustagi provides full-spectrum coverage of these methods, ranging from classical optimization and Lagrange multipliers, to numerical techniques using gradients or direct search, to linear, nonlinear, and dynamic programming using the Kuhn-Tucker conditions or the Pontryagin maximal principle. Variational methods and optimization in function spaces are also discussed, as are stochastic optimization in simulation, including annealing methods. The text features numerous applications, including: Finding maximum likelihood estimates, Markov decision processes, Programming methods used to optimize monitoring of patients in hospitals, Derivation of the Neyman-Pearson lemma, The search for optimal designs, Simulation of a steel mill. Suitable as both a reference and a text, this book will be of interest to advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate students in statistics, operations research, management and engineering sciences, and related fields. Most of the material can be covered in one semester by students with a basic background in probability and statistics. - Covers optimization from traditional methods to recent developments such as Karmarkars algorithm and simulated annealing - Develops a wide range of statistical techniques in the unified context of optimization - Discusses applications such as optimizing monitoring of patients and simulating steel mill operations - Treats numerical methods and applications - Includes exercises and references for each chapter - Covers topics such as linear, nonlinear, and dynamic programming, variational methods, and stochastic optimization

These proceedings consist of 30 selected research papers based on results presented at the 10th Balkan Conference & 1st International Symposium on Operational Research (BALCOR 2011) held in Thessaloniki, Greece, September 22-24, 2011. BALCOR is an established biennial conference attended by a large number of faculty, researchers and students from the Balkan countries but also from other European and Mediterranean countries as well. Over the past decade, the BALCOR conference has facilitated the exchange of scientific and technical information on the subject of Operations Research and related fields such as Mathematical Programming, Game Theory, Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis, Information Systems, Data Mining and more, in order to promote international scientific cooperation. The carefully selected and refereed papers present important recent developments and modern applications and will serve as excellent reference for students, researchers and practitioners in these disciplines. ​

This book collects selected contributions from the international conference “Optimization and Decision Science” (ODS2020), which was held online on November 19, 2020, and organized by AIRO, the Italian Operations Research Society. The book offers new and original contributions on optimization, decisions science and prescriptive analytics from both a methodological and applied perspective, using models and methods based on continuous and discrete optimization, graph theory and network optimization, analytics, multiple criteria decision making, heuristics, metaheuristics, and exact methods. In addition to more theoretical contributions, the book chapters describe models and methods for addressing a wide diversity of real-world applications, spanning health, transportation, logistics, public sector, manufacturing, and emergency management. Although the book is aimed primarily at researchers and PhD students in the Operations Research community, the interdisciplinary content makes it interesting for practitioners facing complex decision-making problems in the afore-mentioned areas, as well as for scholars and researchers from other disciplines, including artificial intelligence, computer sciences, economics, mathematics, and engineering.

Researchers and practitioners in computer science, optimization, operations research and mathematics will find this book useful as it illustrates optimization models and solution methods in discrete, non-differentiable, stochastic, and nonlinear optimization. Contributions from experts in optimization are showcased in this book showcase a broad range of applications and topics detailed in this volume, including pattern and image recognition, computer vision, robust network design, and process control in nonlinear distributed systems. This book is dedicated to the 80th birthday of Ivan V. Sergienko, who is a member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) of Ukraine and the director of the V.M. Glushkov Institute of Cybernetics. His work has had a significant impact on several theoretical and applied aspects of discrete optimization, computational mathematics, systems analysis and mathematical modeling.