Section: Dissemination

Promoting Scientific Activities

• NEO 2015 - Pierrick Legrand, http://neo.cinvestav.mx/NEO2015/ . The aim of the NEO is to bring together scientists from different fields and countries to discuss recent advances in numerical and evolutionary optimization. The workshop has first been held in 2013 in Tlalnepantla, Mexico, and the NEO 2015 is the third edition.

• EVOLVE 2015 - Pierrick Legrand, http://www.evolve-conference.org/ . The aim of the EVOLVE international conference is to build a bridge between probability, statistics, set oriented numerics and evolutionary computing, as well as to identify new common and challenging research aspects. The event is also intended to foster a growing interest for robust and efficient new methods with a sound theoretical background and, last but not least, to unify theory-inspired methods and cutting-edge techniques aimed at reaching top-level performance. By gathering researchers with different backgrounds, ranging from computer science to mathematics, statistics and physics, to name just a few, a unified view and vocabulary can emerge where theoretical and practical advancements may echo in different domains.. The wide use and large applicability spectrum of evolutionary algorithms in real-life applications nurture the need for further developing solid theoretical grounds. Among many examples intricate mathematical objects show, as proven by acknowledged new results that evolutionary algorithms can, in some cases, act as good and fast estimators. Similarly, the handling of large quantities of data may require the use of distributed environments where the probability of failure and the stability of algorithms need to be formally addressed. Common practice confirms in many cases that theory-based results ensure performance guarantee factors for evolutionary algorithms in areas as diverse as optimization, bio-informatics or robotics. Summarizing, EVOLVE focuses on basic research and application challenges arising in theory, new paradigms and practice, thus aiming to provide a unifying view and to raise questions related to reliability, performance guarantees and modeling.

• EA 2015 - Pierrick Legrand, https://ea2015.inria.fr/ . 12th Biennial International Conference on Artificial Evolution, EA 2015, held in Lyon (France). Previous EA editions took place in Bordeaux (2013), Angers (2011), Strasbourg (2009), Tours (2007), Lille (2005), Marseille (2003), Le Creusot (2001), Dunkerque (1999), Nimes (1997), Brest (1995), and Toulouse (1994). Authors had been invited to present original work relevant to Artificial Evolution, including, but not limited to: Evolutionary Computation, Evolutionary Optimization, Co-evolution, Artificial Life, Population Dynamics, Theory, Algorithmics and Modeling, Implementations, Application of Evolutionary Paradigms to the Real World (industry, biosciences, ...), other Biologically Inspired Paradigms (Swarm, Artificial Ants, Artificial Immune Systems, Cultural Algorithms...), Memetic Algorithms, Multi-Objective Optimization, Constraint Handling, Parallel Algorithms, Dynamic Optimization, Machine Learning, and hybridization with other soft computing techniques. Each submitted paper was reviewed by three members of the International Program Committee. Among the 31 submissions received, 18 papers were selected for oral presentation and 8 other papers for poster presentation. For the previous editions, a selection of the best papers which were presented at the conference and further revised were published (see LNCS volumes 1063, 1363, 1829, 2310, 2936, 3871, 4926, 5975, 7401 and 8752).

• Open-loop control of parallel queues: asymptotics of periodic policies, international workshop “Modern Trends in Controlled Stochastic Processes: Theory and Applications”, Liverpool, July 2015

• Open-loop control of parallel queues: asymptotics of periodic policies, international conference APS INFORMS, Istanbul, July 2015

M. Chavent gave invited talks at the seminar of MIAT-INRA of Toulouse in june 2015, and the seminar of the IECL of Nancy in November 2015.

A. Genadot gave a talk at the seminar of IMB, October 2015.

F. Dufour gave the invited talk Constrained and Unconstrained Optimal Control of Piecewise Deterministic Markov Processes international workshop “Modern Trends in Controlled Stochastic Processes: Theory and Applications”, Liverpool, July 2015.