We often come across computational optimization virtually in all branches of engineering and industry. Many engineering problems involve heuristic search and optimization, and, once discretized, may become combinatorial in nature, which gives rise to certain difficulties in terms of solution procedure. Some of these problems have enormous search spaces, are NP-hard and hence require heuristic solution techniques. Another difficulty is the lack of ability of classical solution techniques to determine appropriate optima of non-convex problems. Under these conditions, recent advances in computational optimization techniques have been shown to be advantageous and successful compared to classical approaches. This Volume presents some of the latest developments with a focus on the design of algorithms for computational optimization and their applications in practice. Through the chapters of this book, researchers and practitioners share their experience and newest methodologies with regard to intelligent optimization and provide various case studies of the application of intelligent optimization techniques in real-world applications. This book can serve as an excellent reference for researchers and graduate students in computer science, various engineering disciplines and the industry.
