GECCO 2001 - Special Session - The Next Ten Years of Scheduling Research

A recombination of the Sixth Annual Genetic Programming Conference (GP-2001) and the 10th International Conference on Genetic Algorithms (ICGA-2001)

The Next Ten Years of Scheduling Research

Sponsored by John Wiley & Sons, Inc

Special Session at GECCO 2001 (7th July 2001, San Francisco)

A summary of the special sessions can be seen at the special sessions page.

The GECCO 2001 home page can be seen here

The Next Ten Years of Scheduling Research
Sponsored by John Wiley & Sons, Inc
Peter Cowling and Graham Kendall

This workshop will allow those attending to discuss how scheduling research can be advanced in the next ten years. There are many techniques that have been reported in the literature that have produced excellent results when applied to scheduling problems. For example the use of meta-heuristic techniques (such as tabu search and simulated annealing) and evolutionary techniques (such as genetic and memetic algorithms). One emerging research area is to develop heuristics that operate at a higher level of generality than current technology can support. This will involve advances in heuristics, meta-heuristics and an emerging technique tentatively called a hyper-heuristic. Another interesting idea is to use an "adaptive" heuristic. This uses the idea that a scheduling problem can be solved using a heuristic but, for many reasons, this heuristic can lead to solutions which, although, better than previous efforts, can be even better if the heuristic is allowed to adapt as the search progresses. Through this workshop we hope to achieve three main aims: Allow the delegates to learn about some of the latest techniques and ideas that are being applied by leading researchers in the scheduling community. Invite other researchers to present their ideas as to how the field should develop in the next ten years. We are not looking for results of their current research, rather we are looking for new, blue sky ideas that can lead the research in the near future. Promote discussion on these ideas so that the scheduling community as a whole can benefit.

Workshop Format
60 minutes : Plenary Speaker
15 minutes : Break
90 minutes : Presentation of Accepted Papers
15 minutes : Break
60 minutes : Panel Discussion
Lunch (A buffet is being provided John Wiley & Sons, Inc, who are sponsoring this session)

Speakers
Plenary Speaker

Stephen F. Smith, Carnegie Mellon University

Title: Is Scheduling a Solved Problem?
Abstract: In recent years, scheduling research has had an increasing impact on practical problems, and a range of scheduling techniques have made their way into real-world application development. Constraint-based models now couple rich representational flexibility with highly scalable constraint management and search procedures. Similarly, mathematical programming tools are now capable of addressing problems of unprecedented scale, and meta-heuristics provide robust capabilities for schedule optimization. With these mounting successes and advances, it might be tempting to conclude that the chief technical hurdles underlying the scheduling problem have been overcome. However, such a conclusion (at best) presumes a rather narrow and specialized interpretation of scheduling, and (at worst) ignores much of the process and broader context of scheduling in most practical environments. In this talk, I argue against this conclusion and outline several remaining challenges for scheduling research.

Semi-Plenary Speakers

Martin Middendorf, University of Karlsruhe (Paper Title : Prospects for Dynamic Algorithm Control: Lessons from the Phase Structure of Ant Scheduling Algorithms)
David Montana, BBN Corporation (Paper Title : Optimized Scheduling for the Masses)
Claude Le Pape, ILOG (Draft Title : Constraint Programming + Local Search)

Programme Committee and Panel Discussion Members
All the submissions will be fully refereed and will be published in the workshop proceedings.
The program committee is

Edmund Burke, The University of Nottingham
Ed Coffman, Columbia University
Peter Cowling, The University of Nottingham
Peter Fleming, University of Sheffield
Graham Kendall, The University of Nottingham
Martin Middendorf, University of Karlsruhe
David Montana, BBN Corporation
Colin Reeves, Coventry University
Wolfgang Slany, Technical University of Vienna
Stephen F. Smith, Carnegie Mellon University
Gil Syswerda, i2 Technologies
Edward Tsang, University of Essex

Attendance
Anybody registered for GECCO 2001 is allowed, and encouraged, to attend this workshop.
For administration purposes (for example, deciding on the size of room required), it would help us enormously if you could let us know if you intend to come to this workshop.
Please EMAIL Graham Kendall

Session Organisers Peter Cowling (EMAIL) or Graham Kendall (EMAIL)

School Of Computer Science & IT
University of Nottingham
Jubilee Campus, Wollaton Road, Nottingham
NG8 1BB, UK

If you have any questions or queries please contact us.

Links
Special Sessions at GECCO 2001
Summary of this session
GECCO 2001 Home Page
ASAP Home Page
University of Nottingam, School of Computer Science & Information Technology
University of Nottingam
Peter Cowling Home Page
Graham Kendall Home Page
EMAIL Peter Cowling
EMAIL Graham Kendall

This page was last updated on 20th March 2001