Evolutionary Algorithms are randomized optimization methods, inspired by principles of biological evolution. Such algorithms apply the principle of "survival of the fittest" to the solution of technical problems. The resulting search heuristics are widely and generically applicable to a wide variety of application problems. They are conceptually simple and often easy to implement. Evolutionary search is often applied to the approximate solution of hard optimization tasks for which efficient problem-specific solvers are not available.

The course starts out with a basic model of an evolutionary algorithm. Departing from this model students will learn about various aspects of evolutionary optimization on discrete and continuous search spaces, from which a systematic taxonomy of modular components will be developed.

The course consists of a two hours/week lecture and an accompanying two hours/week practical course. From this year on the course will be in English.

Course type

Lectures

Term

Winter Term 2014/2015

Lecture

Takes place every week on Friday from 10:00 to 12:00 in room NB 3/72.
First appointment is on 10.10.2014

Exercise

Takes place every week on Monday from 12:00 to 14:00 in room NB 3/57.
First appointment is on 13.10.2014

Examination

Takes place on 17.02.2015 from 10:00 to 12:00 in room HZO 80.

The course is designed for Master students of the Angewandte Informatik program. The lecture Mathematics for Modeling and Data Analysis is recommended as a background.