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LANS Seminar
September 29, 2022 @ 10:30 - 11:30 CDT
Seminar Title: Machine Learning for Combinatorial and Global Optimization
Speaker: Can Li, Assistant Professor, Purdue University
Date/Time: September 29, 2022 / 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Location: See meeting URL on the cels-seminars website (requires Argonne login)
Host: Kibaek Kim
Description: Combinatorial optimization and global optimization are well-established areas in operations research and computer science. Until recently, its methods have focused on solving problem instances in isolation, ignoring that they often stem from related data distributions in practice. However, recent years have seen a surge of interest in using machine learning as a new approach for solving combinatorial problems, either directly as solvers or by enhancing exact solvers. In this talk, we will give an overview of recent approaches for accelerating optimization algorithms using machine learning. Examples will include learning to branch with graph convolutional neural networks, learning to select convex relaxations in global optimization algorithms, learning to select neighborhood size in primal heuristics like local branching. We will also give a brief introduction of the software package Ecole for conducting such tasks.
Bio: Can obtained his bachelor’s degree from Tsinghua University, China, in Chemical Engineering. He completed his PhD in Chemical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University under the guidance of Prof. Ignacio Grossmann in 2021. His PhD research is focused on stochastic mixed-integer nonlinear programming and long-term expansion planning of power systems. Can did a one-year Postdoc at Polytechnique Montreal with Prof. Andrea Lodi on using machine learning techniques to accelerate optimization algorithms. He joined the School of Chemical Engineering at Purdue University as an assistant professor in the Fall of 2022. His research group is focused on optimization, machine learning, and applications in sustainable energy systems.
Please note that the meeting URL for this event can be seen on the cels-seminars website, which requires an Argonne login.