Inverse Optimization with Discrete Decisions

Inverse optimization (IO) has emerged as a powerful framework for analyzing prescriptive model parameters that rationalize observed or prescribed decisions. Despite the prevalence of discrete decision-making models, existing work has primarily focused on continuous and convex models, for which the corresponding IO problems are far easier to solve. This paper makes three contributions that broaden … Read more

Machine Learning Algorithms for Assisting Solvers for Decision Optimization Problems

Combinatorial decision problems lie at the intersection of Operations Research (OR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), encompassing structured optimization tasks such as submodular selection, dynamic programming, planning, and scheduling. These problems exhibit exponential growth in decision complexity, driven by interdependent choices coupled through logical, temporal, and resource constraints.  Classical optimization frameworks—including integer programming, submodular optimization, and … Read more

Branch and price for nonlinear production-maintenance scheduling in complex machinery

This paper proposes a mixed-integer nonlinear programming approach for joint scheduling of long-term maintenance decisions and short-term production for groups of complex machines with multiple interacting components. We introduce an abstract model where the production and the condition of machines are described by convex functions, allowing the model to be employed for various application areas … Read more

Stronger cuts for Benders’ decomposition for stochastic Unit Commitment Problems based on interval variables

The Stochastic Unit Commitment (SUC) problem models the scheduling of power generation units under uncertainty, typically using a two-stage stochastic program with integer first-stage and continuous second-stage variables. We propose a new Benders decomposition approach that leverages an extended formulation based on interval variables, enabling decomposition by both unit and time interval under mild technical … Read more

Towards a geometric characterization of unbounded integer cubic optimization problems via thin rays

We study geometric characterizations of unbounded integer polynomial optimization problems. While unboundedness along a ray fully characterizes unbounded integer linear and quadratic optimization problems, we show that this is not the case for cubic polynomials. To overcome this, we introduce thin rays, which are rays with an arbitrarily small neighborhood, and prove that they characterize … Read more

Projection-width: a unifying structural parameter for separable discrete optimization

We introduce the notion of projection-width for systems of separable constraints, defined via branch decompositions of variables and constraints. We show that several fundamental discrete optimization and counting problems can be solved in polynomial time when the projection-width is polynomially bounded. These include optimization, counting, top-k, and weighted constraint violation. Our results identify a broad … Read more

Branch-and-Cut for Computing Approximate Equilibria of Mixed-Integer Generalized Nash Games

Generalized Nash equilibrium problems with mixed-integer variables constitute an important class of games in which each player solves a mixed-integer optimization problem, where both the objective and the feasible set is parameterized by the rivals’ strategies. However, such games are known for failing to admit exact equilibria and also the assumption of all players being … Read more

Distributionally Robust Optimization with Integer Recourse: Convex Reformulations and Critical Recourse Decisions

The paper studies distributionally robust optimization models with integer recourse. We develop a unified framework that provides finite tight convex relaxations under conic moment-based ambiguity sets and Wasserstein ambiguity sets.  They provide tractable primal representations without relying on sampling or semi-infinite optimization. Beyond tractability, the relaxations offer interpretability that captures the criticality of recourse decisions. … Read more

Improving Directions in Mixed Integer Bilevel Linear Optimization

We consider the central role of improving directions in solution methods for mixed integer bilevel linear optimization problems (MIBLPs). Current state-of-the-art methods for solving MIBLPs employ the branch-and-cut framework originally developed for solving mixed integer linear optimization problems. This approach relies on oracles for two kinds of subproblems: those for checking whether a candidate pair … Read more

On the Convexification of a Class of Mixed-Integer Conic Sets

We investigate mixed-integer second-order conic (SOC) sets with a nonlinear right-hand side in the SOC constraint, a structure frequently arising in mixed-integer quadratically constrained programming (MIQCP). Under mild assumptions, we show that the convex hull can be exactly described by replacing the right-hand side with its concave envelope. This characterization enables strong relaxations for MIQCPs … Read more