Fast approximate solution of large dense linear programs

We show how random projections can be used to solve large-scale dense linear programs approximately. This is a new application of techniques which are now fairly well known in probabilistic algorithms, but have never yet been systematically applied to the fundamental class of Linear Programming. We develop the necessary theoretical framework, and show that this … Read more

Mixed Integer Quadratic Optimization Formulations for Eliminating Multicollinearity Based on Variance Inflation Factor

The variance inflation factor, VIF, is the most frequently used indicator for detecting multicollinearity in multiple linear regression models. This paper proposes two mixed integer quadratic optimization formulations for selecting the best subset of explanatory variables under upper-bound constraints on VIF of selected variables. Computational results illustrate the effectiveness of our optimization formulations based on … Read more

Max-Norm Optimization for Robust Matrix Recovery

This paper studies the matrix completion problem under arbitrary sampling schemes. We propose a new estimator incorporating both max-norm and nuclear-norm regularization, based on which we can conduct efficient low-rank matrix recovery using a random subset of entries observed with additive noise under general non-uniform and unknown sampling distributions. This method significantly relaxes the uniform … Read more

A SMART Stochastic Algorithm for Nonconvex Optimization with Applications to Robust Machine Learning

Machine learning theory typically assumes that training data is unbiased and not adversarially generated. When real training data deviates from these assumptions, trained models make erroneous predictions, sometimes with disastrous effects. Robust losses, such as the huber norm are designed to mitigate the effects of such contaminated data, but they are limited to the regression … Read more

Regularized monotonic regression

Monotonic (isotonic) Regression (MR) is a powerful tool used for solving a wide range of important applied problems. One of its features, which poses a limitation on its use in some areas, is that it produces a piecewise constant fitted response. For smoothing the fitted response, we introduce a regularization term in the MR formulated … Read more

Analysis of transformations of linear random-effects models

Assume that a linear random-effects model (LRM) $\by = \bX \bbe + \bve = \bX\bbe+ \bve$ with $\bbe = \bA \bal + \bga$ is transformed as $\bT\by = \bT\bX\bbe + \bT\bve = \bT\bX\bA \bal + \bT\bX\bga + \bT\bve$ by pre-multiplying a given matrix $\bT$. Estimations/predictions of the unknown parameters under the two models are not … Read more

A new algebraic analysis to linear mixed models

This article presents a new investigation to the linear mixed model $\by = \bX \bbe + \bZ\bga + \bve$ with fixed effect $\bX\bbe$ and random effect $\bZ\bga$ under a general assumption via some novel algebraic tools in matrix theory, and reveals a variety of deep and profound properties hidden behind the linear mixed model. We … Read more

Statistical inference and hypotheses testing of risk averse stochastic programs

We study statistical properties of the optimal value and optimal solutions of the Sample Average Approximation of risk averse stochastic problems. Central Limit Theorem type results are derived for the optimal value and optimal solutions when the stochastic program is expressed in terms of a law invariant coherent risk measure. The obtained results are applied … Read more

Semi-infinite programming using high-degree polynomial interpolants and semidefinite programming

In a common formulation of semi-infinite programs, the infinite constraint set is a requirement that a function parametrized by the decision variables is nonnegative over an interval. If this function is sufficiently closely approximable by a polynomial or a rational function, then the semi-infinite program can be reformulated as an equivalent semidefinite program. Solving this … Read more

Sparse Recovery via Partial Regularization: Models, Theory and Algorithms

In the context of sparse recovery, it is known that most of existing regularizers such as $\ell_1$ suffer from some bias incurred by some leading entries (in magnitude) of the associated vector. To neutralize this bias, we propose a class of models with partial regularizers for recovering a sparse solution of a linear system. We … Read more