= Key Click (a good starting point for optimization novices)

Link Categories

FIND LEARN READ SOLVE HIRE TALK MEET JOIN

MICHAEL'S LATEST PICK MPL Online Tutorial http://www.maximal-usa.com/mpltutor MPL is structured modeling language for optimization. This tutorial takes you through a series of increasingly sophisticated models to teach modeling the way it is currently being used in practice.

FIND - Find more information on optimization

LP/NLP FAQ http://www-unix.mcs.anl.gov/otc/Guide/faq/ Linear programming and nonlinear programming Frequently Asked (and Answered!) Questions address the most common questions in optimization, established by John Gregory and now maintained by Robert Fourer. Michael Trick's Operations Research Page http://mat.gsia.cmu.edu While no site can be complete, this site contains more than 1000 pointers including pointers to all aspects of optimization. Constraints Archive http://www.cs.unh.edu/ccc/archive Pointers to all aspects of constraint programming. Very complete.

LEARN - Learn more about optimization

Harvey Greenberg's Mathematical Programming Glossary http://www.cudenver.edu/~hgreenbe/glossary/glossary.html Don't understand a word? Check out this very complete, cross-listed glossary. OR-Notes by John Beasley http://mscmga.ms.ic.ac.uk/jeb/or/contents.html Short, well-written, introductions to many of the techniques of optimization. The Logistics Institute at Georgia Tech http://www.tli.gatech.edu Very active group of researchers providing cases, short courses, and industry interaction on topics in logistics, material handling, and related areas. Harvey Greenberg's Short Course in Linear Programming http://www.cudenver.edu/~hgreenbe/courseware/LPshort/intro.html A collection of notes and exercises, making extensive use of Greenberg's Glossary, that provide a good introduction to linear programming. Remote Interactive Optimization Testbed http://riot.ieor.berkeley.edu/riot An interesting collection of optimization applications, including determinging when baseball teams clinch their divisions, optimal portfolio selection, mechanical design, and more. From a group at the University of California, Berkeley.

READ - Read about optimization and its applications

Interfaces Online http://silmaril.smeal.psu.edu/interfaces/ A practice oriented journal includes a multitude of interesting uses of optimization. Articles from 1980-1997 are freely available online. More recent articles are available at INFORMS PubsOnline http://www.pubsonline.informs.org OR/MS Today http://lionhrtpub.com/ORMS.shtml Membership magazine with much online content. Check out their software reviews, application descriptions and other great content. ResearchIndex http://citeseer.nj.nec.com Not just optimization, but a very complete, searchable index of papers available on the web. Indexes over 300,000 complete documents and over 4,000,000 citations. Special Issue of Interfaces on Operations Research and e-Commerce http://www.informs.org/ebiz/interfaces Interesting papers with online adjuncts, a discussion area, a URL collection and other information. Optimization Online http://www.optimization-online.org Read about the newest results at this eprint site for the optimization community, complete with full search and an email tickler service. Cap Gemini Ernst & Young: Operational Research Case Studies http://www.uk.cgey.com/services/or/casestudies/all_cs.htm Collection of almost 100 one page case studies illustrating the use of optimization and other operations research methods.

SOLVE - Solve optimization problems

Decision Tree For Opimization Software http://plato.la.asu.edu/guide.html Find software by choosing the right technique for your problem by Mittelmann and Spellucci. NEOS Guides and Server http://www-neos.mcs.anl.gov Solve a variety of optimization problems on the NEOS machines. Also see their optimization survey for more information on software and optimization techniques. OR-Library http://mscmga.ms.ic.ac.uk/info.html Extensive set of instances and other information about a broad range of optimization problems, collected by J.E. Beasley. GIDEN http://giden.nwu.edu/ A network optimization interface and algoirthm collection from Northwestern University. LPL: a mathematical modeling language http://www2-iiuf.unifr.ch/tcs/lpl/LplHome.htm This is a Linear (or Logical or Literate) programming language for building large optimization models. Includes an online solver for experimentation. Paul Jensen's Excel Add-Ins http://mohican.me.utexas.edu/~jensen/addins A collection of add-ins for Microsoft Excel that covers much of optimization, including network optimization, markov processes, decision analysis, materials requirements planning, and much more. The tutOR Project http://www.tutor.ms.unimelb.edu.au An interesting set of javascript modules to solve a variety of optimization problems. COIN (Common Optimization INterface) http://oss.software.ibm.com/developerworks/opensource/coin An Open Source initiative spearheaded by IBM to create modules to aid in solving complex optimization models.

HIRE - Hire specialists in optimization

INFORMS Professional Opportunity Page http://www.informs.org/Jobs Free job listings, viewed by hundreds of well-qualified job seekers. See also the INFORMS Job Placement Service http://www.informs.org/JPS for access to the resumes of job seekers for a small fee. D.W. Simpson http://www.dwsimpson.com/otherjobs.html Specialists in quantitative jobs. Smith Hanley http://www.smithhanley.com/index-28.html Specialists in operations research and related areas for more than 20 years. Analytic Recruiting http://www.analyticrecruiting.com Placement company specializing in quantitative job openings.

	TALK - Discuss issues in optimization
	sci.Op-Research news:sci.op-research A USENET newsgroup with a strong optimization component. More than 17,000 readers at the last survey. See also an archive of old messages at http://www.deja.com/group/sci.op-research

MEET - Meet others interested in optimization

INFORMS Conferences http://www.informs.org/Conf Regular meetings of the society and its subdivisions. One of our original key clicks has been greatly expanded to include many non-INFORMS conferences on optimization and other operations research topics. You can even create and save your own personal calendar. Mathematical Programming Meeting http://www.isye.gatech.edu/ismp2000 The meeting in optimization, occurs every three years, with the next occurring in Atlanta in August, 2000. INFORMS Practice Meeting http://www.informs.org/Practice2001 Finally, a conference that concentrates on the practice of operations research, including optimization. Interesting presentations and conference design.

JOIN - Join a professional organization

INFORMS http://www.informs.org 12,000 member, US-based operations research and management science organization, complete with a subdivision specializing in optimization. Mathematical Programming Society http://www.caam.rice.edu/~mathprog Organization specializing in optimization with a membership newsletter, journal, and conferences. SIAM (Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics) http://www.siam.org Active organization for all aspects of applied mathematics, including optimization. Operational Research Society http://www.orsoc.org.uk U.K. based operational research society with membership magazine, job postings, and much more. IFORS (International Federation of Operational Research Societies) http://www.ifors.org Well, you can't join unless you are a society, but joining the others helps this group. Interesting initiatives in education and developing countries highlights the offerings on this page.