Optimization courses at the graduate level

A full listing of courses and more information can be found here. The following courses are often recommended and relevant for energy systems optimization research, and a sample progression is noted with “*”.

  • *COMP SCI / ​E C E / ​I SY E 524:   Introduction to Optimization
    • Introduction to mathematical optimization from a modeling and solution perspective.
  • *COMP SCI / ​I SY E/ ​MATH / ​STAT 525:   Linear Programming Methods
    • Real linear algebra over polyhedral cones; theorems of the alternative for matrices; formulation of linear programs; duality theory and solvability; the simplex method and related methods for efficient computer solution.
  • COMP SCI / ​I SY E 526:   Advanced Linear Programming
    • Polynomial time methods for linear programming; quadratic programs and linear complementarity problems and related solution techniques; solution sets and their continuity properties.
  • COMP SCI /​ E C E /​ M E 532:   Matrix Methods in Machine Learning
    • An introduction to machine learning that focuses on matrix methods and features real-world applications ranging from classification and clustering to denoising and data analysis.
  • COMP SCI / ​I SY E 719:   Stochastic Programming
    • Stochastic programming is concerned with decision making in the presence of uncertainty, where the eventual outcome depends on a future random event. Topics include modeling uncertainty in optimization problems, risk measures, stochastic programming algorithms, approximation and sampling methods, and applications.
  • COMP SCI /​ I SY E 723:   Dynamic Programming and Associated Topics
    • General and special techniques of dynamic programming are developed by means of examples. Shortest-path algorithms; deterministic equipment replacement models; resource allocation problem; traveling-salesman problem; general stochastic formulations; Markovian decision processes and more
  • *COMP SCI /​ I SY E /​ MATH / ​STAT 726:   Nonlinear Optimization I
    • This course emphasizes continuous, nonlinear optimization and could be taken with only a background in mathematical analysis.
  • *COMP SCI /​ I SY E /​ MATH 728:   Integer Optimization
    • Introduction to optimization problems over integers and survey of the theory behind the algorithms used in state-of-the-art methods for solving such problems. Special attention is given to the polyhedral formulations of these problems, and to their algebraic and geometric properties.
  • COMP SCI / ​I SY E /​ MATH 730:   Nonlinear Optimization II
    • Theory and algorithms for nonlinearly constrained optimization; relevant geometric concepts, including tangent and normal cones, theorems of the alternative, and separation results.