Optimization Techniques

Introduction to Optimization

​

Optimization Techniques in Computer Science. Optimization is a fundamental concept that transcends the boundaries of many scientific disciplines, including computer science, mathematics, engineering, economics, and data science. The ability to solve optimization problems efficiently and effectively is essential for any professional in these fields.

​

This course will introduce you to the fundamental techniques and methodologies used in optimization. Whether you're tuning a machine learning algorithm to get the best performance, determining the shortest path for a delivery network, or scheduling tasks in a busy system to minimize latency, optimization techniques form the bedrock of these processes.

​

We'll begin by familiarizing ourselves with the landscape of optimization, understanding its key definitions and classifications, such as convex and non-convex problems, constrained and unconstrained optimization, and linear and non-linear programming. We'll explore the concepts of convexity and concavity, which play crucial roles in determining problem complexity and solvability.

​

In the first part of the course, we'll delve into unconstrained optimization techniques like Gradient Descent, which serves as the backbone of many machine learning algorithms, and Newton's and Quasi-Newton Methods, used for efficiently finding local minima or maxima of a function. We'll apply these techniques to problems like curve fitting or finding the roots of an equation.

​

Then we'll move on to constrained optimization, discussing concepts like Lagrange multipliers and the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker conditions. We'll apply these techniques to problems like portfolio optimization, where we need to maximize return while limiting risk.

​

In our discussion on linear programming, you'll learn about the Simplex method and its applications in fields like resource allocation, logistics, and production planning. For instance, we'll tackle a real-world supply chain optimization problem to decide the most cost-effective distribution of goods from multiple warehouses to various retail outlets.

​

Our foray into integer programming and combinatorial optimization will have us exploring the branch and bound method and dynamic programming techniques. These skills come in handy when dealing with discrete optimization problems, such as task scheduling, or the famous traveling salesperson problem.

We'll also uncover the world of heuristic methods, such as genetic algorithms and simulated annealing, which can provide good solutions for complex, multi-modal optimization problems. We'll demonstrate their utility in problems like feature selection in machine learning, or even in game-playing AI.

Lastly, we'll explore the intersection of machine learning and optimization. We'll delve into backpropagation, the optimization backbone of neural networks, and discuss techniques for optimizing support vector machines and logistic regression models.