A Generic Hybrid Genetic Algorithm-based Framework for Solving Various Classes of Arc Routing Problems

Arc routing problems are combinatorial optimization problems that have many real-world applications, such as mail delivery, snow plowing, and waste collection. Various variants of this problem are available, as well as algorithms intended to solve them heuristically or exactly. Presented here is a generic algorithmic framework that can be applied to a variety of arc … Read more

Robust Continuous-Time Service Network Design under Travel Time Uncertainty

The continuous-time service network design problem (CTSNDP) has wide applications in the field of transportation, but it is complicated by travel time uncertainty resulting from unpredictable traffic conditions. Incorporating uncertain travel times poses a significant challenge, as time-indexed mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) formulations commonly used to solve the CTSNDP with deterministic travel times become impractical. … Read more

Exact and Heuristic Solution Approaches for Busy Time Minimization in Temporal Bin Packing

Given a set of jobs (or items), each of which being characterized by its resource demand and its lifespan, and a sufficiently large number of identical servers (or bins), the busy time minimization problem (BTMP) requires to find a feasible schedule (i.e., a jobs-to-servers assignment) having minimum overall power-on time. Although being linked to the … Read more

K-Shortest Simple Paths Using Biobjective Path Search

In this paper we introduce a new algorithm for the k-Shortest Simple Paths (k-SSP) problem with an asymptotic running time matching the state of the art from the literature. It is based on a black-box algorithm due to Roddity and Zwick that solves at most 2k instances of the Second Shortest Simple Path (2-SSP) problem … Read more

Joint UAV and Truck Routing Under Uncertain Disruptions: Measuring the Value of Information

\(\) We consider a joint UAV and truck routing problem in which the operation of the UAV is subject to uncertain disruptions. The planner initially does not know in which locations a disruption will occur but can refine his/her knowledge by spending additional resources to probe locations for additional information, removing the uncertainty for the … Read more

Adaptive Consensus: A network pruning approach for decentralized optimization

We consider network-based decentralized optimization problems, where each node in the network possesses a local function and the objective is to collectively attain a consensus solution that minimizes the sum of all the local functions. A major challenge in decentralized optimization is the reliance on communication which remains a considerable bottleneck in many applications. To … Read more

A Polynomial Algorithm for the Lossless Battery Charging Problem

This study presents a polynomial time algorithm to solve the lossless battery charging problem. In this problem the optimal charging and discharging schedules are chosen to maximize total profit. Traditional solution approaches have relied on either approximations or exponential algorithms. By studying the optimality conditions of this problem, we are able to reduce it to … Read more

Playing Stackelberg security games in perfect formulations

Protecting critical infrastructure from intentional damage requires foreseeing the strategies of possible attackers. The problem faced by the defender of such infrastructure can be formulated as a Stackelberg security game. A defender must decide what specific targets to protect with limited resources, maximizing their expected utility (e.g., minimizing damage value) and considering that a second … Read more

A Stochastic Benders Decomposition Scheme for Large-Scale Data-Driven Network Design

Network design problems involve constructing edges in a transportation or supply chain network to minimize construction and daily operational costs. We study a data-driven version where operational costs are uncertain and estimated on historical data. This problem is computationally challenging, and instances with as few as 50 nodes cannot be solved to optimality by current … Read more

Political districting to minimize county splits

When partitioning a state into political districts, a common criterion is that political subdivisions like counties should not be split across multiple districts. This criterion is encoded into most state constitutions and is sometimes enforced quite strictly by the courts. However, map drawers, courts, and the public typically do not know what amount of splitting … Read more