Unit 3: Beyond Local Optima

March 10: Stochastic Methods

Contents:

  • Noisy Descent
  • Mesh Adaptive Direct Search
  • Simulated Annealing
  • Cross-Entropy Method
  • Natural Evolution Strategies
  • Covariance Matrix Adaptation

Resources:

  • Slides

  • Chapter 8 and Appendix of [KW]

March 11: Exercise Session 5 on Direct Methods and Stochastic Methods

March 17: Population Methods and Sampling Plans

Population Methods:

  • Initialization
  • Genetic Algorithms
  • Differential Evolution
  • Particle Swarm Optimization
  • Hybrid Methods

Resources:

  • Slides

  • Chapter 9 and Appendix of [KW]

Sampling Plans

  • Full Factorial
  • Random Sampling
  • Uniform Projection Plans
  • Stratified Sampling
  • Space-Filling Metrics
  • Space-Filling Subsets
  • Quasi-Random Sequences

Resources:

March 18: Exercises