Spencer C. Schantz Distinguished Lecture Series

Lehigh ISE Spencer C. Schantz Distinguished Lecture - Technical Lecture

Speaker: Nick Sahinidis

Title: The Butler Family Chair and Professor of Industrial & Systems Engineering and Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology

Lecture: Convexification and optimization of problems involving the Euclidean norm

Date & Time: Tuesday, December 3, 2024 - 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Location: Mohler Laboratory Room 453, 200 West Packer Avenue, Bethlehem, PA

Abstract:

The field of mixed-integer nonlinear optimization has advanced significantly over the past three decades. However, even small instances of many nonconvex optimization problems involving the Euclidean norm are beyond the capabilities of existing algorithms. These problems stem from applications such as molecular energy minimization, object packing, and facility location, and often share specific features that make them challenging. In this presentation, we identify these features, introduce new algorithms to address them, and present numerical results that demonstrate the impact of our techniques. Furthermore, we identify several related open problems and opportunities for analytical and computational advances.

Bio:

Nick Sahinidis is Butler Family Chair and Professor of Industrial & Systems Engineering and Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Sahinidis previously taught at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1991-2007) and Carnegie Mellon University (2007-2020). He has pioneered algorithms and developed widely used software for optimization and machine learning. He received the INFORMS Computing Society Prize in 2004, the Beale-Orchard-Hays Prize from the Mathematical Programming Society in 2006, the Computing in Chemical Engineering Award in 2010, the Constantin Carathéodory Prize in 2015, and the National Award and Gold Medal from the Hellenic Operational Research Society in 2016. He is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering, a fellow of INFORMS, a fellow of AIChE, a fellow of the Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association, and past Editor-in-Chief of Optimization and Engineering.

Spencer C. Schantz Distinguished Lecture Series: This lecture series is endowed in the name of the late Spencer C. Schantz, who graduated from Lehigh in 1955 with a B.S. in Industrial Engineering. Following progressive responsibilities with several electrical manufacturing companies, in 1969 he founded U.S. Controls Corporation and became its first CEO and President. The Spencer C. Schantz Distinguished Lecture Series was established by his wife Jerelyn as a valuable educational experience for faculty, students, and friends of Lehigh’s Industrial and Systems Engineering department.