Robust optimal design of a tree-based water distribution network with intermittent demand

This paper discusses the design of a tree-shaped water distribution system for small, dispersed rural communities. It revisits the topic that was discussed in [Babonneau et al., 2019] and is nowadays implemented in the field. It proposes a new approach to pipe selection based on robust optimization to account for the uncertainty inherent in intermittent … Read more

Stochastic Ratios Tracking Algorithm for Large Scale Machine Learning Problems

Many machine learning applications and tasks rely on the stochastic gradient descent (SGD) algorithm and its variants. Effective step length selection is crucial for the success of these algorithms, which has motivated the development of algorithms such as ADAM or AdaGrad. In this paper, we propose a novel algorithm for adaptive step length selection in … Read more

Finding Regions of Counterfactual Explanations via Robust Optimization

Counterfactual explanations play an important role in detecting bias and improving the explainability of data-driven classification models. A counterfactual explanation (CE) is a minimal perturbed data point for which the decision of the model changes. Most of the existing methods can only provide one CE, which may not be achievable for the user. In this … Read more

Maximum Likelihood Probability Measures over Sets and Applications to Data-Driven Optimization

Motivated by data-driven approaches to sequential decision-making under uncertainty, we study maximum likelihood estimation of a distribution over a general measurable space when, unlike traditional setups, realizations of the underlying uncertainty are not directly observable but instead are known to lie within observable sets. While extant work studied the special cases when the observed sets … Read more

Optimal Low-Rank Matrix Completion: Semidefinite Relaxations and Eigenvector Disjunctions

Low-rank matrix completion consists of computing a matrix of minimal complexity that recovers a given set of observations as accurately as possible. Unfortunately, existing methods for matrix completion are heuristics that, while highly scalable and often identifying high-quality solutions, do not possess any optimality guarantees. We reexamine matrix completion with an optimality-oriented eye. We reformulate … Read more

Learning in Inverse Optimization: Incenter Cost, Augmented Suboptimality Loss, and Algorithms

In Inverse Optimization (IO), an expert agent solves an optimization problem parametric in an exogenous signal. From a learning perspective, the goal is to learn the expert’s cost function given a dataset of signals and corresponding optimal actions. Motivated by the geometry of the IO set of consistent cost vectors, we introduce the “incenter” concept, … Read more

On the Partial Convexification of the Low-Rank Spectral Optimization: Rank Bounds and Algorithms

A Low-rank Spectral Optimization Problem (LSOP) minimizes a linear objective subject to multiple two-sided linear matrix inequalities intersected with a low-rank and spectral constrained domain set. Although solving LSOP is, in general, NP-hard, its partial convexification (i.e., replacing the domain set by its convex hull) termed “LSOP-R”, is often tractable and yields a high-quality solution. … Read more

On the Number of Pivots of Dantzig’s Simplex Methods for Linear and Convex Quadratic Programs

Refining and extending works by Ye and Kitahara-Mizuno, this paper presents new results on the number of pivots of simplex-type methods for solving linear programs of the Leontief kind, certain linear complementarity problems of the P kind, and nonnegative constrained convex quadratic programs. Our results contribute to the further understanding of the complexity and efficiency … Read more

On the longest chain of faces of the completely positive and copositive cones

We consider a wide class of closed convex cones K in the space of real n*n symmetric matrices and establish the existence of a chain of faces of K, the length of which is maximized at n(n+1)/2 + 1. Examples of such cones include, but are not limited to, the completely positive and the copositive … Read more

Modeling risk for CVaR-based decisions in risk aggregation

Title Modeling risk for CVaR-based decisions in risk aggregation. Abstract Measuring the risk aggregation is an important exercise for any risk bearing carrier. It is not restricted to evaluation of the known portfolio risk position only, and could include complying with regulatory requirements, diversification, etc. The main difficulty of risk aggregation is creating an underlying … Read more