Spring School on Convex Optimization and Applications.

The MINO Initial Training Network of the European Union and the ICT COST action TD1207 announce a school for doctoral students and post-docs of mathematics and computer science. It is intended for people interested in the general field of nonlinear finite dimensional optimization.

Alpen-Adria-Universitaet Klagenfurt (click on image to enlarge)

Program overview:

• Semidefinite Optimization (April 8)
• Convex Analysis (April 9, morning)
• Real World Applications of Optimization (April 9, afternoon)
• Nonlinear Mixed Integer Optimization (April 10)

Slides from the talks can be found on the COST website

Scientific Program:

• Monday: (for MINO ESRs only) MINO ESR Day (see below).  Room z-1.29 (Omansaal)
  
  
• Tuesday: "Semidefinite Optimization", Room K-0.01 (Stiftungssaal)
  Lectures by Miguel F. Anjos (Montreal) and Angelika Wiegele (Klagenfurt)
  
  9:15-10:15: lecture (Anjos)
  
  10:15-11:00: break
  
  11:00-11:45: lecture (Anjos)
  
  11:45-14:00: lunch
  
  14:00-15:00: lecture (Wiegele)
  
  15:00-15:30: break
  
  15:30-16:15: lecture (Wiegele)
  
  16:15-16:30: short break
  
  16:30-17:00: problem session
  
  
  
• Wednesday: "Convex Analysis" 9-12 a.m. Room HS 8 (Mensagebaeude)
  Lectures by Jean-Baptiste Hiriart-Urruty (Toulouse)
  
  
• Wednesday: Industry session, 2-5 p.m. Room z-1.29 (Omansaal):
  
   - Gregor Brandt, ORTEC
  
   - Andrea Tramontani, IBM
  
   - Michael Diekerhof, E.ON Energy Research Center
  
   - Benjamin Hiller, ZIB
  
  
  
• Thursday: "Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Optimization", Room HS B
  Lectures by Jon Lee (Michigan) and Andrea Lodi (Bologna)
  
  9:15-10:15: lecture (Lee): Introduction to MINLP // Complexity of MINLP: Hardness and polynomial tractability
  
  10:15-11:00: break
  
  11:00-12:00: lecture (Lodi): General-purpose algorithms for convex and non-convex MINLP
  
  12:00-14:15: lunch
  
  14:15-15:00: lecture (Lee): Non-convex quadratic MINLP
  
  15:00-15:30: break
  
  15:30-16:15: lecture (Lodi): Software and computational advances
  
  16:15-16:30: short break
  
  16:30-17:00: problem session
  
  

• Get together on Sunday, 7 p.m. in town (tba).

• Welcome Reception on Tuesday, 7 p.m. at Cafe Como on the Campus.
  
  

• Hike on Friday:
  
  The hike takes place at the mountain "Dobratsch" at almost any weather conditions (some information: http://www.bergfex.com/sommer/kaernten/touren/wanderung/4192,villacher-alpe-dobratsch/ and http://www.naturparkdobratsch.info/de/ (German only).
  
  We go by bus from the university to the starting point "Rosstratte". The easy hike lasts about approx. 1,5 hours to the summit, where there is a little restaurant ("Dobratsch Gipfelhaus").
  
  We plan to be back in Klagenfurt around 4 p.m.
  
  Possibly, there will still be some snow on the top of the mountain. Therefore, we recommend to bring sturdy shoes (possibly waterproof) and a warm jacket. Bring also sun glasses since we're sure the weather will be nice ;-)
  
  Meeting point: 9 a.m. at the bus station in front of the main entrance of the University!

• from Tuesday to Thursday we meet for a 1-hour gentle morning run. Meeting point: 7.30 a.m. in front of the USI (university sports institutes). There are changing rooms, lockers (bring a 1-Euro coin for deposit), and showers inside the USI building for participants free of charge.

The school ends on Friday, late afternoon.

For MINO PhD students only:

On Monday, April 7, the MINO ESR Day takes place. The MINO PhD students will present themselves and their research topics. There is a 30 minutes time slot for each student.

Time: 9-12 a.m. and 2 - 5 p.m., room: z-1.29

For COST participants only:

The COST meeting takes place on Tuesday, April 8, 2014 from 11 to 14 in room Z.1.29 (Omansaal).

Registration:

In case you wish to attend, please send a CV to anita.wachter@aau.at which should include the following information:

• Name, Affiliation, PhD student/post-doc/senior, Research focus, Name of supervisor (if applicable).

Deadline: 14.02.2014 !

The school is open to all participants interested in optimization, but as the number of participants is limited, preference will be given to participants coming from the COST TD1207 network. 

There is no registration fee and there will be limited funding available.

Venue
The spring school will be held at the Alpen-Adria-Universitaet Klagenfurt, Austria, which is located at the beautiful lake "Woerthersee".

For accomodation see e.g. Klagenfurt Tourismus

The University is not in the city center, however, there are reasonable bus connections from the city center to the University, online bus schedule. Furthermore, it is very convenient to go around by bike, for bike rental check here for the price and here for the places to rent a bike.

Also, some of the hotels offer bikes to rent.

Travelling to Klagenfurt:

For travelling to Klagenfurt by train, see OEBB

Klagenfurt airport has direct flights from/to Cologne, Hamburg, Berlin (germanwings, not daily!) and Vienna (austrian airlines).

The timetable for busses from Ljubljana airport to Klagenfurt can be found here (a one-way ticket is 16 EUR): http://www.alpeadrialine.com/de/fahrplaene.html  

You may also consider arriving at one of the neighboring airports Ljulbjana, Graz, Triest, Venice Marco Polo, Treviso and booking a shared taxi via www.flughafentransfer.at (website in german only). www.flughafentransfer.at offers an airport shuttle from several destinations to Klagenfurt. Prices are as follows:

• Graz - Klagenfurt: 58 EUR / person (97 EUR both directions)
• Ljubljana - Klagenfurt: 48 EUR / person (76 EUR both directions)
• Munich - Klagenfurt: 128 EUR / person (236 EUR both directions)
• Trieste - Klagenfurt: 70 EUR / person (120 EUR both directions)
• Venice - Klagenfurt: 90 EUR / person (160 EUR both directions)
• Vienna - Klagenfurt: 84 EUR / person (148 EUR both directions)

Further Information:

For further information please send an email to franz.rendl@aau.at and don't forget to bring adequate shoes for the hike on Friday.