Workshop on Parallel Techniques
in Search, Optimization, and Learning

Modern research during these last twenty years has expanded to address very interesting problems of large complexity (dimensionality, restrictions, computing intensive...). In particular, those coming from real-world scenarios are getting both larger in size and harder in complexity.

Aiming at finding accurate (and robust) solutions in the shortest possible computational time, these problems face researchers to new challenges of difficult solution with traditional techniques and computers. One way to achieve unseen numerical and efficient results is the use of parallel algorithms, hardware, and specialized techniques.

With the evolution of parallel architectures (symmetric multiprocessors, multi/many-cores, GPUs, etc.), many opportunities emerge for the design of efficient algorithms.

This workshop seeks contributions on new theoretical advances and carefully designed, well-analyzed proposals in the field of parallel search algorithms. It is also intended to gather researchers from several domains (operations research, computer science, management science, communications and networks, ...) with an opportunity for presenting and discussing their more recent developments in theory and application of parallel search algorithms. An open atmosphere for discussion of future research lines will hopefully help in defining where we are and where are we going in this crossroad between parallelism and (Nature) problem solving.

Program and accepted papers

9:30 - 9:45: Opening, by Enrique Alba.

9:45 - 10:05: New Load Balancing Strategy for Solving Permutation Flow Shop Problem Using Grid Computing, by Samia Kouki, Talel Ladhari, and, Mohamed Jemni.

10:05 - 10:25: Computing UIO Sequences Using Parallel GAs, by Qiang Guo, John McCall and Horacio González-Vélez.

10:25 - 10:45: Parallel Local Elimination Algorithms for Sparse Discrete Optimization Problems, by Daria Lemtyuzhnikova and Oleg Shcherbina.

10:45 - 11:15: Coffee break

11:15 - 11:35: Grid Computing Systems and Combinatorial Optimization, by Oleg Shcherbina and Eugene Levner.

11:35 - 11:55: Using Pool-based Evolutionary Algorithms for Scalable and Asynchronous Distributed computing, by J.J. Merelo, A.M. Mora, C. M. Fernandes, M. G. Arenas, and Anna I. Esparcia-Alcazar

11:55 - 12:15: Using Theory for Designing Competitive Distributed EAs, by K. Osorio, G. Luque, E. Alba

12:15 - 12:45: Round-table meeting.

12:45 - 13:00: Closing.

Important dates

Extended Abstract Submission: June 8th, 2012

Author Notification: June 18th, 2012

Conference: September 1-5, 2012

Submission details

Researchers are invited to submit extended abstracts of no more than 4 pages using the LNCS style (see Information for LNCS Authors). The contributions should be submitted as PDF by email to Francisco Luna (flv@lcc.uma.es) and Enrique Alba (eat@lcc.uma.es).

Workshop format

In order to promote discussion among the participants, the workshop will consist of short oral presentations (no more than 10-15 minutes) plus a one-hour final discussion on several hot topics that will be gathered before and during the workshop celebration. Contributing authors will be asked to send their proposals that might be related or not to their extended abstract. Relevant research topics that will surely arise during the workshops will be considered as well. Following the tradition of PPSN, the workshop abstracts are not published in the conference proceedings.

Topics

Works are expected (but not limited) in the following areas:

Workshop organizers

Enrique Alba, University of Malaga, Spain (eat@lcc.uma.es)

Francisco Luna, University of Malaga, Spain (flv@lcc.uma.es)