In operations research and computer science it is common practice to evaluate the performance of optimization algorithms on the basis of computational results, and the experimental approach should follow accepted principles that guarantee the reliability and reproducibility of results. However, computational experiments differ from those in other sciences, and the last decade has seen considerable methodological research devoted to understanding the particular features of such experiments and assessing the related statistical methods. This book consists of methodological contributions on different scenarios of experimental analysis. The first part overviews the main issues in the experimental analysis of algorithms, and discusses the experimental cycle of algorithm development; the second part treats the characterization by means of statistical distributions of algorithm performance in terms of solution quality, runtime and other measures; and the third part collects advanced methods from experimental design for configuring and tuning algorithms on a specific class of instances with the goal of using the least amount of experimentation. The contributor list includes leading scientists in algorithm design, statistical design, optimization and heuristics, and most chapters provide theoretical background and are enriched with case studies. This book is written for researchers and practitioners in operations research and computer science who wish to improve the experimental assessment of optimization algorithms and, consequently, their design.

This book introduces the new experimentalism in evolutionary computation, providing tools to understand algorithms and programs and their interaction with optimization problems. It develops and applies statistical techniques to analyze and compare modern search heuristics such as evolutionary algorithms and particle swarm optimization. The book bridges the gap between theory and experiment by providing a self-contained experimental methodology and many examples.

This book constitutes the refereed post-conference proceedings of the Special Event on the Analysis of Experimental Algorithms, SEA2 2019, held in Kalamata, Greece, in June 2019. The 35 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 45 submissions. The papers cover a wide range of topics in both computer science and operations research/mathematical programming. They focus on the role of experimentation and engineering techniques in the design and evaluation of algorithms, data structures, and computational optimization methods.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 7th International Workshop on Experimental and Efficient Algorithms, WEA 2008, held in Provincetown, MA, USA, in May/June 2008. The 26 revised full papers were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions and present current research on experimental evaluation and engineering of algorithms, as well as in various aspects of computational optimization and its applications. Special focus is put on the use of experimental methods to guide the design, analysis, implementation, and evaluation of algorithms, heuristics, and optimization programs.

This book is about optimization techniques and is subdivided into two parts. In the first part a wide overview on optimization theory is presented. Optimization is presented as being composed of five topics, namely: design of experiment, response surface modeling, deterministic optimization, stochastic optimization, and robust engineering design. Each chapter, after presenting the main techniques for each part, draws application oriented conclusions including didactic examples. In the second part some applications are presented to guide the reader through the process of setting up a few optimization exercises, analyzing critically the choices which are made step by step, and showing how the different topics that constitute the optimization theory can be used jointly in an optimization process. The applications which are presented are mainly in the field of thermodynamics and fluid dynamics due to the author's background.

Optimal Design of Experiments offers a rare blend of linear algebra, convex analysis, and statistics. The optimal design for statistical experiments is first formulated as a concave matrix optimization problem. Using tools from convex analysis, the problem is solved generally for a wide class of optimality criteria such as D-, A-, or E-optimality. The book then offers a complementary approach that calls for the study of the symmetry properties of the design problem, exploiting such notions as matrix majorization and the Kiefer matrix ordering. The results are illustrated with optimal designs for polynomial fit models, Bayes designs, balanced incomplete block designs, exchangeable designs on the cube, rotatable designs on the sphere, and many other examples.