[Edinburgh-pm] Fwd: Constraint-solving masterclass, some time in early Dec '11

Miles Gould miles at assyrian.org.uk
Thu Oct 6 07:05:35 PDT 2011


I notice that it doesn't explicitly say it's for UoE members only :-)

Miles

-------- Original Message --------
011 11:11:30 +0100
From: CLARK Fiona <fclark1 at inf.ed.ac.uk>
To: all informatics <if-people at inf.ed.ac.uk>, "at-people at inf.ed.ac.uk"
 <at-people at inf.ed.ac.uk>
Subject: [if-people] SICSA Distinguished Visiting Fellow Seminar Series

We are pleased to announce that Dr Alan M Frisch from the University
of York, will be giving a masterclass in the School of Informatics as
part of the SICSA Distinguished Visiting Fellow Seminar Series.

If you would like to attend this event please visit the doodle poll
below to allow us to determine the most suitable date and anticipate
numbers. The poll will be available until Monday 10 October.

http://www.doodle.com/5856eia28kddsq3x

The masterclass will be given over 3 hours, with refreshments provided.

This is a chance to get an overview of what is happening in this
research area, and some recent developments.

==============================================================================


                         Masterclass
         Constraint Modelling: A Systematic Approach

                        Alan M Frisch
                Artificial Intelligence Group
                Department of Computer Science
                      University of York


The use of constraint modelling languages is spreading widely and they
can now be used as front ends to constraint solvers, mixed-integer
programming systems, SAT solvers, and a range of hybrid solvers.
These powerful solvers are now capable of solving very large instances
of important combinatorial (decision and optimisation) problems.

The consequence of these advances is that if you encounter a difficult
combinatorial problem there is a good chance you can solve it --
provided you first model it as a set of constraints that must be
satisfied by any solution. This masterclass will teach you how to
build such models.

Constraint modelling, like computer programming, has always been
taught by presenting students with a sequence of examples of
increasing complexity.  In contrast, this masterclass pioneers a new
approach in which modelling is seen as a systematic process that works
its way through a space of design choices.

===========================================================
About the Speaker:

Dr Alan M Frisch is a Reader in Intelligent Systems and Head of the
Artificial Intelligence Group in the Dept. of Computer Science at the
Univ. of York.  He is currently a SICSA Distinguished Visiting Fellow.

For over 30 years he has been teaching artificial intelligence and
researching various topics within the field, including a focus on
constraint programming over the past decade.  He is an acknowledged
leader in constraint modelling, best known for his pioneering
contributions in the automation of constraint modelling, in inventing
the ESSENCE problem specification language, and in developing
symmetry-breaking constraints.





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