Robust Optimization Under Sparse Uncertainty

Classical robust optimization relies on convex and bounded uncertainty sets, an assumption that is inadequate for sparse uncertainty, where only a small, unknown subset of parameters deviates from its nominal value. This sparsity makes the uncertainty set nonconvex and turns separation into a combinatorial problem, so standard duality-based reformulations do not apply. We study two … Read more

Scenario Tradeoffs in Uncertain Multiobjective Optimization

Realistic decision problems are inherently multiobjective and uncertain. To manage both of these complexities, robust multiobjective optimization strives to aid the decision maker in finding a decision which is Pareto efficient and is hedged against the worst-case scenario. In this paper, we present a robustness approach which is grounded in the decision maker’s preferences by … Read more

Robust Out-of-Distribution Stochastic Optimization with Heterogeneous Inclusive and Exclusive Distribution Clusters

Decision scenarios far from rare in practice often place data-driven decision-making in an awkward position, where the decision maker may have access to neither the target distribution itself nor any empirical samples drawn from it, especially when decisions must be made in novel or highly uncertain environments. In response, robust out-of-distribution stochastic optimization (RooDSO) has … Read more

Stable and Unstable Singularities in Navier-Stokes ?

This document provides an extended and rigorous framework dedicated to the geometric analysis of the 3D incompressible Navier-Stokes equations \cite{ESS2003}. We comprehensively develop geometric proofs related to decay estimates, blow-up profiles, and the foundational partial regularity theory of Caffarelli, Kohn, and Nirenberg (CKN). We examine in detail the Hausdorff dimension of potential singular sets, local … Read more

The Value of Human Expertise

We consider optimization applications with unknown parameters where the decision maker believes that the optimal value of the nominal problem—the optimization problem they would have solved if the true parameters were known—is unlikely to be large. This belief derives from information that humans have that is not captured in datasets, obtained from domain knowledge and … Read more

Generative Neural Networks for Sinkhorn Distributionally Robust Hypothesis Testing

This paper studies the Sinkhorn distributionally robust hypothesis testing (SDRHT) problem, seeking a robust detector against least-favorable distributions in Sinkhorn discrepancy-based ambiguity sets centered at the empirical distributions. Existing approaches solve this problem by solving large-scale conic programs, which are not scalable. To overcome this, we propose a generative framework that learns least-favorable distributions and … Read more

A Shrinkage Path Heuristic for Wasserstein Distributionally Robust Optimization

Wasserstein distributionally robust optimization (DRO) is a versatile and widely adopted framework for decision-making under uncertainty, yet its standard deterministic reformulations generally contain non-convex inner subproblems that are challenging to solve. To address this issue, we propose a shrinkage path heuristic that reduces the solution of a DRO problem to a one-dimensional search over the … Read more

Integrated Learning and Robust Optimization

Many operational decisions require solving a linear program whose cost vector is unknown at decision time and must be predicted from contextual information. Because prediction and decision are only weakly aligned, the emerging integrated learning and optimization (ILO) paradigm trains the predictor through the downstream problem, judging a prediction by the decision it induces. However, … Read more

A Lifting-and-Splitting Framework for Risk-Averse Distributionally Robust Multi-Item Newsvendor Problems

Risk-averse distributionally robust multi-item newsvendor problems provide a fundamental model for inventory decisions under demand uncertainty, limited distributional information, and downside-risk concerns. We study this problem under mean-covariance demand ambiguity, where the decision maker maximizes the worst-case conditional value-at-risk of profit. While cross-item demand correlations are important for portfolio-level inventory decisions, they are difficult to … Read more

Robust Chance-Constrained Optimization using a Continuous Parameter Space Wasserstein-2 Ambiguity Set of Gaussian Mixtures

We study distributionally robust linear chance-constrained problems in which uncertainty is modeled by a Gaussian mixture model (GMM). Finite-support distributionally robust (FDR) formulations, widely used in data-driven robust optimization, robustify over empirical mixture support points and therefore primarily stress-test the fitted nominal mixture. This can be insufficient when service reliability depends on structural misspecification of … Read more