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Rockwell Lecture Series
Nick Sahinidis
October 4, 2024
Nick Sahinidis, NAE, Georgia Institute of Technology
Optimization and Machine Learning Nexus: Model-based And Data-driven Approaches
Time 1:00 pm
Location L2D2

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In this lecture, we present recent methodological developments for three closely related optimization and machine-learning problems:

  1. Global optimization of algebraic models
  2. Model building from data while enforcing shape constraints
  3. Optimization with data originating from simulations or experiments

We also explore the connections between these three problems and discuss their applications in various fields of science and engineering.

Nick Sahinidis is the Butler Family Chair and Professor of Industrial & Systems Engineering and Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Sahinidis previously taught at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1991–2007) and Carnegie Mellon University (2007–2020). He has pioneered algorithms and developed widely used software for optimization and machine learning. He has received several awards for his research including an NSF CAREER Award, the INFORMS Computing Society Prize in 2004, the Beale-Orchard-Hays Prize from the Mathematical Programming Society in 2006, the Computing in Chemical Engineering Award in 2010, the Constantin Carathéodory Prize in 2015, and the National Award and Gold Medal from the Hellenic Operational Research Society in 2016. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), a fellow of INFORMS and AIChE. Sahinidis has served on the editorial boards of many leading journals and in various positions within AIChE (American Institute of Chemical Engineers). He has also held several positions within INFORMS (Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences), including Chair of the INFORMS Optimization Society.

About Elizabeth D. Rockwell

Elizabeth D. Rockwell

A fourth generation Houstonian, Mrs. Rockwell was an Executive Director, Private Client Division of CIBC Oppenheimer Corp. She was widely recognized as an expert in retirement, estate, investment, and tax planning. She was an early proponent of the Keogh and IRA plans, for which she has been nationally recognized.

In 1991, she qualified to be a member of the Million Dollar Round Table as well as the Texas Leaders Round Table. Since 1990 she had authored a monthly column for the Houston Chronicle.

Mrs. Rockwell served as President of the UH College of Business Administration Foundation Board, as a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board, and was an Executive Professor for the college. She also served as a member of the advisory board of the Health Law and Policy Institute and as a Trustee of the University of Houston System’s Foundation, as well as a member of the UH System’s Planned Giving Council.

Mrs. Rockwell served on the Board of Governors for the Houston Forum, and as a Board member of the American Red Cross, the Greater Houston Women’s Foundation, the University of Houston Alumni Organization, and the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance. She was a member of the River Oaks Business Women’s Exchange Club, the National Tax Sheltered Annuity Association, the Texas Association of College Teachers, and the Houston Association of Life Underwriters.

Among her numerous honors, she has received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of Houston, the Distinguished Alumna Award from the Houston Alumni Organization and from the UH College of Business Administration. Throughout the years she has been recognized for her many achievements by the Education Foundation of Harris County, the Houston Community College System’s Television Station Advisory Council, and the Houston Mayor’s READ Commission.

The Houston Alumni Center is home to the Elizabeth D. Rockwell President’s Suite. In September 1997, the Elizabeth D. Rockwell Career Services Center was opened in the UH College of Business Administration. She endowed the Chair for the Dean of the M.D. Anderson Library.

Mrs. Rockwell was listed in the Who’s Who in the South and Southwest; Who’s Who in finance and Industry; Who’s Who of American Women; and Who’s Who in the World.