The First International Conference on
Optimization Methods and Software

December 15-18, 2002
Hangzhou, China

OBJECTIVES

The conference aims to review and discuss recent advances and promising research trends in optimization theory, methods, applications and software developing.  

TOPICS INCLUDE

·         Linear and Nonlinear Optimization

·         Integer and Combinatorial Optimization

·         Convex and Nonsmooth Optimization

·         Global Optimization

·         Semi-definite Programming

·         Semi-infinite Programming

·         Multi-objective Optimization

·         Stochastic Optimization

·         Complementarity and Variational Inequality Problems

·         Network Optimization

·         Scheduling Problems

·         Optimal Control

·         Automatic Differentiation

·         Optimization Software

CONFERENCE CO-CHAIRS

·         Oleg Burdakov (Linköping University, Sweden)

·         En-Yu Yao (Zhejiang University, China)

·         Jian-Zhong Zhang (City University of Hong Kong, China)

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE

·         Chair: Masao Iri (Chuo University, Japan)

·         Vice-Chair: Jie Sun (National University of Singapore, Singapore)

·         Bruce Christianson (University of Hertfordshire, UK)

·         Nai-Yang Deng (China Agricultural University, China)

·         Laurence Dixon (University of Hertfordshire, UK)

·         Lucio Grandinetti (University of Calabria, Italy)

·         Olvi Mangasarian (University of Wisconsin, USA)

LOCAL ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

·         Chair: En-Yu Yao

·         Vice-Chair: Yong He

·         Guang-Ting Chen

·         Xiao-Dong Hu

·         Qi-Fan Yang

INVITED SPEAKERS

·         Dingzhu Du (University of Minnesota, USA)

·         Yuri Evtushenko (Academy of Sciences, Russia)

·         Masao Fukushima (Kyoto University, Japan)

·         Andreas Griewank (Dresden University of Technology, Germany)

·         Luigi Grippo (University of Roma, Italy)

·         Horst Hamacher (University of Kaiserslautern, Germany)

·         Toshihide Ibaraki (Kyoto University, Japan)

·         Florian Jarre (University of Düsseldorf, Germany)

·         Christian Kanzow (University of Würzburg, Germany)

·         Leonid Khachiyan (Rutgers University, USA)

·         Zhi-Quan Luo (McMaster University, Canada)

·         Panos Padarlos (University of Florida, USA)

·         Florian Potra (University of Maryland, USA)

·         Michael Powell (University of Cambridge, UK)

·         Cornelis Roos (Delft University of Technology, Holand)

·         Alex Rubinov (University of Ballarat, Australia)

·         Ekkehard Sachs (University of Trier, Germany)

·         Stefan Scholtes (University of Cambridge, UK)

·         Naum Shor (Academy of Sciences, Ukraine)

·         Emilio Spedicato (University of Bergamo, Italy)

·         Tamas Terlaky (McMaster University, Canada)

·         Paul Tseng (University of Washington, USA)

·         Takashi Tsuchiya (Institute of Statistical Mathematics, Japan)

·         Laurence Wolsey (Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium)

·         Andrew Yao (Princeton University, USA)

·         Yinyu Ye (Stanford University, USA)

·         Ya-Xiang Yuan (Academy of Sciences, China)

SPONSORED BY 

• The National Natural Science Foundation of China

• Timeless Software Ltd.

• Taylor & Francis Journals Ltd.

• Owlet Techcom Ltd.
  
  
  

CONFERENCE VENUE

The New Building of the Center for Mathematics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.

HOTEL INFORMATION

1.     A block reservation with discount rates has been made in the Jinxi Hotel of Hangzhou.  The three-star hotel is within a walking distance to the conference venue, and is near the West Lake, one of the most beautiful places of the city.  Shuttle bus service between the hotel and the university will be available during the conference period.  The address of the hotel is: 15 West Hill Road, Hangzhou.

2.     Room rent of Jingxi Hotel

US$40 per day per room.

Each room has two beds and a private bathroom, and room sharing by two people is possible.  The room rent includes breakfast for one or two people.

3.  Booking

Room reservation fee is not required, but please fill in the arrival and departure dates accurately in the conference registration form.

ABOUT HANGZHOU

Hangzhou is located in the Yangtse River Delta of China, about 150 km southwest of Shanghai.  Hangzhou is the capital city of Zhejiang Province, and the population of the city is about two million.  Hangzhou is well-known for its picturesque scenery.  After touring Hangzhou, which had been the capital of China's Southern Song Dynasty, the renowned 13th century Italian traveler Marco Polo exclaimed in admiration that it was the most beautiful city in the world.  "Up in the sky there is the paradise, down on the land there are Suzhou and Hangzhou."  This is how Chinese people have described Hangzhou's fame for hundreds of years.  Each year, over 17 million tourists visit Hangzhou. 

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION

Those interested in participating the conference are invited to submit abstracts of their papers by email to oms@math.zju.edu.cn.  Abstracts should not exceed one page and should be written in either LaTeX or Microsoft Word format according to the sample files which are attached herewith:-

Download Abstract Information in MS Word Format

Download Abstract Information in LaTeX Format

It is preferable for the participants to submit their abstracts as an attached file, together with an email containing the following information:

1.   Contact author's name, affiliation, mailing and email address.
2.    Name of the speaker if the paper is a co-authored one.
3.    Name of the session organizer if the paper is for an organized session.
4.    One or two research topics most closely related to the paper.

SESSION ORGANIZATION

Proposals of organizing sessions on various topics are welcome and can be sent to J. Sun of the Scientific Committee by email: jsun@nus.edu.sg.  Titles and organizers of such sessions will be listed later on this web page.

SOFTWARE EXHIBITION

Optimization and management science software developers are invited to participate in the software exhibition.  The basic computer facility for software demonstration will be provided by the conference.

CONFERENCE PUBLICATIONS

Papers presented at the conference will be considered for publication in a peer-reviewed proceedings which will appear as a special issue of the journal Optimization Methods and Software.  The co-editors of the special issue are Cornelis Roos and Jian-Zhong Zhang.  All papers should be submitted in electronic form (PS, PDF or DVI file) by email to maopt@math.cityu.edu.hk by 31 January 2003.  To prepare a manuscript, please follow the "Instructions for Authors" which is available on the journal's web site:

http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/authors/g-authors/191/191-nfc.htm

SOCIAL EVENTS

15 Dec. 2002 evening: Conference Reception

All are welcome.

16 Dec. 2002 evening: A Celebration Party for the 10^th Anniversary of the journal OMS

Free-of-charge for invited guests and OMS board members; US$5 or RMB40 for other participants.

17 Dec. 2002: A Local Tour

Free-of-charge for conference participants; US$30 or RMB240 for accompanying people.

18 Dec. 2002: Conference Banquet

Free-of-charge for conference participants; US$25 or RMB200 for accompanying people.

(Interested participants can pay cash in US dollars on site.)

TRANSPORTATION (Travel Directions to Jinxi Hotel)

1.           Hangzhou-Xiaoshan International Airport (HXIA)

One can arrive at HXIA from Hong Kong International Airport, Beijing International Airport, Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport or other airports of China.  But for people arriving at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport (SHIA) first, instead of flying to HXIA, they can also use other means to arrive at Hangzhou, see part 2 below.

Ground Transportation from HXIA to Jinxi Hotel

a.      Airport Shuttle Bus offers transportation from HXIA to Wu-Ling-Meng of Hangzhou, i.e. the terminus of the bus tour, (every 30 minutes a bus) for 20 RMB (US$2.5) per person.  Reservations are not required.  One can then arrive at Jinxi Hotel from Wu-Ling-Meng by taxi for about 15 RMB (US$1.8).

b.     One can arrive at Jinxi Hotel from HXIA by taxi directly.  The taxi fare is about 150 RMB (US$18).

c.     A leaflet of the hotel shall be mailed to overseas participants.  Please show it to the taxi-driver.

2.    Shanghai Pudong International Airport (SPIA)

Ground Transportation from SPIA to Jinxi Hotel

a.      One can arrive at Jinxi Hotel from SPIA by taxi for about 700 RMB (US$95).

b.     Airport Bus Line 1 offers transportation from SPIA to Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHIA) for 30 RMB (US$4) per person.  Time of service is from 07:20 until the last arrival flight.  Take a shuttle bus from SHIA to Wu-Ling-Meng of Hangzhou for 85 RMB (US$10.5) per person.  The bus departure time is as follows: 10:30, 12:00, 13:00, 15:00, 16:30, 18:00.  The bus shall arrive in Hangzhou in about 2 hours.

c.     Airport Bus Line 5 offers transportation from SPIA to Shanghai Railway Station (SRS) for 18 RMB (US$2.3) per person.  Time of service is 07:20 – 23:00.  There are trains available from Shanghai to Hangzhou.  The train fare is about 50 RMB (US$6), and usually advanced booking is unnecessary.  Schedules of some trains are as follows:

Trains with * will stop at Hangzhou Railway Station (HRS).  Other trains will stop at Hangzhou Eastern Railway Station (HERS).  Participants can take taxi from these stations to go to Jinxi Hotel.  The taxi fare is about 20 RMB (US$2.5).

POST-CONFERENCE TOUR

1.     A two day (Dec. 19-20, 2002) Suzhou-Shanghai tour is in the process of organizing.  The tour will be arranged by China Travel Service Ltd. (Zhejiang) and led by an English speaking tour guide.

2.     The brief touring plan is as follows (subject to minor changes):

19 DEC. 2002     

Take a bus tour from Hangzhou to Suzhou.  Visit the Tiger Hill, Liu Garden, Han Shan Temple, and Central Market of Suzhou.  Stay at Suzhou for the night.

20 DEC. 2002     

Take a bus tour from Suzhou to Shanghai.  Visit Eastern Pearl Square and Tower, Huang-Pu river, Yu Garden and local market, Nanjing Road (the No. 1 commercial street of China) of Shanghai.  Stay at Shanghai for the night and participants may leave Shanghai at Dec. 21 morning.

3.  The price (subject to minor changes) is:

US$130 for a shared room, or

US$170 for a single occupancy room.

The price includes two nights (Dec. 19 and Dec. 20, 2002) four-star hotel living and all meals in the two days.

(Interested participants can pay cash in US dollars on site.)

4.  The planning tour will be cancelled if less than 16 people decide to join.  Early notification to the conference organizers for your interests in the tour will be helpful and appreciated.

DATES AND DEADLINES

Deadline for abstract submissions: 31 August 2002.
Notification of acceptance: 15 September 2002.
Release of the second announcement: 30 September 2002.
Deadline for early registration: 31 October 2002.
Deadline for hotel-booking at the special rate: 30 November 2002.

REGISTRATION

1.     Registration fee

Early registration fee on or before 31 October 2002: US$200.

Late registration fee: US$250.

Student registration fee: US$150.

(Students should present their certificates of student status upon arrival in order to use the discount rate.)

The registration fee includes reception, banquet, working lunches, refreshments, transportation expenses and tickets for a one-day tour.

For PRC participants, please contact Zhejiang University by email to oms@math.zju.edu.cn for further information.

2.     Methods of payment

Participants may either:

a.  telegraphic transfer (TT) the registration fee in US dollars to the following conference account:

Beneficiary: Zhejiang University

Account no.: 4518242140121

Account: Bank of China, Zhejiang, SWIET code; BKCHCNBJ910; or

b. pay cash in US dollars on site.

Please mention your name when sending the registration payment, such as:

“(your name)’s registration fee for OMS2002”.

We are sorry that credit cards are not accepted. 

3.     Registration form

     Please fill in the registration form to provide the conference with your information.  The form can be obtained on-line from the web address registration.oms2002 and submitted on-line.

4.     Refund policy

People withdrawn by Nov. 30, 2002 can get back 60% of the paid registration fee.

VISA APPLICATION

1.     All foreign passport holders need to get a visa to enter China.  The organizing committee will send each participant an official document issued by the Zhejiang Provincial Government with which foreign participants may go to the local Consulate of China to apply for the visa.

Citizens of some countries may come to China with a tourist visa, but please check with the local Consulate of China for the availability of using this short route for visa application.

2.     In order that the Zhejiang Provincial Foreign Affairs Office is able to prepare an official invitation letter, all foreign participants and their accompanying persons should send the following information by email to oms@math.zju.edu.cn by Sept. 15, 2002:

Name, Nationality, Affiliation, Mailing Address, Passport Number, Dates to enter and leave China (the dates are not necessarily accurate, but must cover the actual visiting period).

As the processing time for getting the document ready is quite long (usually two months or more), it is strongly suggested that the above information is sent to the local organizer as soon as possible.

CONFERENCE WEB AND EMAIL ADDRESSES

Web address: http://www.cityu.edu.hk/ma/conference/oms2002.html
Email address: maopt@math.cityu.edu.hk