libDIPS — Discretization-Based Semi-Infinite and Bilevel Programming Solvers

We consider several hierarchical optimization programs: (generalized) semi-infinite and existence-constrained semi-infinite programs, minmax, and bilevel programs. Multiple adaptive discretization-based algorithms have been published for these program classes in recent decades. However, rigorous numerical performance comparisons between these algorithms are lacking. Indeed, if numerical comparisons are provided at all, they usually compare a small selection of … Read more

Robust Regression over Averaged Uncertainty

We propose a new formulation of robust regression by integrating all realizations of the uncertainty set and taking an averaged approach to obtain the optimal solution for the ordinary least-squared regression problem. We show that this formulation surprisingly recovers ridge regression and establishes the missing link between robust optimization and the mean squared error approaches … Read more

ROBIST: Robust Optimization by Iterative Scenario Sampling and Statistical Testing

In this paper, we propose ROBIST, a simple, yet effective, data-driven algorithm for optimization under parametric uncertainty. The algorithm first generates solutions in an iterative manner by sampling and optimizing over a relatively small set of scenarios. Then, using statistical testing, the robustness of the solutions is evaluated, which can be done with a much … 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

The Robust Bike Sharing Rebalancing Problem: Formulations and a Branch-and-Cut Algorithm

Bike Sharing Systems (BSSs) offer a sustainable and efficient urban transportation solution, bringing flexible and eco-friendly alternatives to city logistics. During their operation, BSSs may suffer from unbalanced bike distribution among stations, requiring rebalancing operations throughout the system. The inherent uncertain demand at the stations further complicates these rebalancing operations, even when performed during downtime. … Read more

Learning Optimal Classification Trees Robust to Distribution Shifts

We consider the problem of learning classification trees that are robust to distribution shifts between training and testing/deployment data. This problem arises frequently in high stakes settings such as public health and social work where data is often collected using self-reported surveys which are highly sensitive to e.g., the framing of the questions, the time … Read more

Using Column Generation in Column-and-Constraint Generation for Adjustable Robust Optimization

Adjustable robust optimization (ARO) is a powerful tool to model problems that have uncertain data and that feature a two-stage decision making process. Computationally, they are often addressed using the column-and-constraint generation (CCG) algorithm introduced by Zhao and Zeng in 2012. While it was empirically shown that the algorithm scales well if all second-stage decisions … Read more

Neur2RO: Neural Two-Stage Robust Optimization

Robust optimization provides a mathematical framework for modeling and solving decision-making problems under worst-case uncertainty. This work addresses two-stage robust optimization (2RO) problems (also called adjustable robust optimization), wherein first-stage and second-stage decisions are made before and after uncertainty is realized, respectively. This results in a nested min-max-min optimization problem which is extremely challenging computationally, … Read more

Robust Optimization Under Controllable Uncertainty

Applications for optimization with uncertain data in practice often feature a possibility to reduce the uncertainty at a given query cost, e.g., by conducting measurements, surveys, or paying a third party in advance to limit the deviations. To model this type of applications we introduce the concept of optimization problems under controllable uncertainty (OCU). For … Read more

Improving the Security of United States Elections with Robust Optimization

For more than a century, election officials across the United States have inspected voting machines before elections using a procedure called Logic and Accuracy Testing (LAT). This procedure consists of election officials casting a test deck of ballots into each voting machine and confirming the machine produces the expected vote total for each candidate. We … Read more