On October 19, 2018, I gave my research talk Automating Scientific Research in Optimization at the Information Systems & Business Administration chair of Prof. Dr. Franz Rothlauf at Faculty of Law, Management and Economics faculty of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU, Johannes Gutenberg Universität) in Mainz, Germany.
The main research aims of the chair of Information Systems & Business Administration concern simulation and optimization processes as well as E-Business and modelling. Its application aims deal with network planning and combinatorial optimization in varying areas of economics. They have, for instance, developed a very efficient Estimation of Distribution Algorithm (EDA) for bit-string based problems. The group collaborates with several industry partners, including HRS, Avinomics GmbH, BridgingIT GmbH, EnBW AG, t.e.a.m. AG, and McKinsey.
Several times I have attended Prof. Rothlauf's always interesting tutorials at the GECCO conferences and I can only recommend them. He is one of the corner stones of the Evolutionary Computation community. His books Design of Modern Heuristics: Principles and Application and Representations for Genetic and Evolutionary Algorithms belong to the standard canon of Evolutionary Computation literature. He also has published more than 90 technical papers in the context of planning and optimization, evolutionary computation, e-business, and software engineering, co-edited several conference proceedings and edited books.
Meeting this group and Prof. Rothlauf at the JGU was a very nice experience and I am thankful that the talk was visited well.
