This course serves as an introduction to combinatorics and optimization and discusses classical direct search-for-optimum methods for constrained optimization, including linear and quadratic programming, and others. Topics to be covered include: complexity theory, linear integer programming technique, constrained/unconstrained optimization and heuristic search techniques such as tabu search, genetic algorithms, particle swarm optimization, simulated annealing and GRASP. (First offering – Fall 2011)
