Solving Multiobjective Mixed Integer Convex Optimization Problems

Multiobjective mixed integer convex optimization refers to mathematical programming problems where more than one convex objective function needs to be optimized simultaneously and some of the variables are constrained to take integer values. We present a branch-and-bound method based on the use of properly defined lower bounds. We do not simply rely on convex relaxations, … Read more

Asynchronous Stochastic Subgradient Methods for General Nonsmooth Nonconvex Optimization

Asynchronous distributed methods are a popular way to reduce the communication and synchronization costs of large-scale optimization. Yet, for all their success, little is known about their convergence guarantees in the challenging case of general non-smooth, non-convex objectives, beyond cases where closed-form proximal operator solutions are available. This is all the more surprising since these … Read more

Hybrid Stochastic Gradient Descent Algorithms forStochastic Nonconvex Optimization

We introduce a hybrid stochastic estimator to design stochastic gradient algorithms for solving stochastic optimization problems. Such a hybrid estimator is a convex combination of two existing biased and unbiased estimators and leads to some useful property on its variance. We limit our consideration to a hybrid SARAH-SGD for nonconvex expectation problems. However, our idea … Read more

A primal-dual interior-point algorithm for nonsymmetric exponential-cone optimization.

A new primal-dual interior-point algorithm applicable to nonsymmetric conic optimization is proposed. It is a generalization of the famous algorithm suggested by Nesterov and Todd for the symmetric conic case, and uses primal-dual scalings for nonsymmetric cones proposed by Tuncel. We specialize Tuncel’s primal-dual scalings for the important case of 3 dimensional exponential-cones, resulting in … Read more

The Fuel Replenishment Problem:A Split-Delivery Multi-Compartment Vehicle Routing Problem with Multiple Trips

In this paper, we formally define and model the Fuel Replenishment Problem (FRP). The FRP is a multi-compartment, multi-trip, split-delivery VRP in which tanker trucks transport different types of petrol, separated over multiple vehicle compartments, from an oil depot to petrol stations. Large customer demands often necessitate multiple deliveries. Throughout a single working day, a … Read more

Acceleration of SVRG and Katyusha X by Inexact Preconditioning

Empirical risk minimization is an important class of optimization problems with many popular machine learning applications, and stochastic variance reduction methods are popular choices for solving them. Among these methods, SVRG and Katyusha X (a Nesterov accelerated SVRG) achieve fast convergence without substantial memory requirement. In this paper, we propose to accelerate these two algorithms … Read more

Beyond Alternating Updates for Matrix Factorization with Inertial Bregman Proximal Gradient Algorithms

Matrix Factorization is a popular non-convex objective, for which alternating minimization schemes are mostly used. They usually suffer from the major drawback that the solution is biased towards one of the optimization variables. A remedy is non-alternating schemes. However, due to a lack of Lipschitz continuity of the gradient in matrix factorization problems, convergence cannot … Read more

Lagrangian relaxation based heuristics for a chance-constrained optimization model of a hybrid solar-battery storage system

Published in Journal of Global Optimization. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10898-021-01041-y We develop a stochastic optimization model for scheduling a hybrid solar-battery storage system. Solar power in excess of the promise can be used to charge the battery, while power short of the promise is met by discharging the battery. We ensure reliable operations by using a joint chance … Read more

Multiphase Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Optimal Control of Hybrid Electric Vehicles

This paper considers the problem of computing the non-causal minimum-fuel energy management strategy of a hybrid electric vehicle on a given driving cycle. Specifically, we address the multiphase mixed-integer nonlinear optimal control problem arising when optimal gear choice, torque split and engine on/off controls are sought in off-line evaluations. We propose an efficient model by … Read more

Improved convergence analysis of Lasserre’s measure-based upper bounds for polynomial minimization on compact sets

We consider the problem of computing the minimum value of a polynomial f over a compact set K⊆R^n, which can be reformulated as finding a probability measure ν on K minimizing the expected value of f over K. Lasserre showed that it suffices to consider such measures of the form ν=qμ, where q is a … Read more