The Molecular Distance Geometry Problem (MDGP) is the problem of finding the conformation of a molecule from inter-atomic distances. In some recent work, we proposed the interval Branch & Prune (iBP) algorithm for solving instances of the MDGP related to protein backbones. This algorithm is based on an artificial ordering given to the atoms of the protein backbones which allows the discretizati...

We present a Branch and Bound approach for the resource constrained project scheduling problem where activity durations are assumed to be random according to independent probability distributions. Our aim is to compute an optimal scheduling policy that minimize the expected project cost with respect to some regular measure of performance.

We introduce new lower bounds for the minimum graph bisection problem. Within a branch-and-bound framework, they enable the solution of a wide variety of instances with tens of thousands of vertices to optimality. Our algorithm compares favorably with the best previous approaches, solving long-standing open instances in minutes.

Branch and bound algorithms for Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MILP) almost universally branch on a single variable to create disjunctions. General linear expressions involving multiple variables are another option for branching disjunctions, but are not used for two main reasons: (i) descendent LPs tend to solve more slowly because of the added constraints, so the overall solution time is i...

The Multi-Story Space Assignment Problem (MSAP) is an innovative formulation of the multi-story facility assignment problem that allows one to model the location of departments of unequal size within multi-story facilities as a Generalized Quadratic 3-dimensional Assignment Problem (GQ3AP). Not only can the MSAP generate the design of the location of the departments in the facility, the MSAP al...

Precise constraint satisfaction modeling requires specific knowledge acquired from multiple past cases. We address this issue with a general branch-and-bound algorithm that learns the parameters of a given global constraint from a small set of positive solutions. The idea is to cleverly explore the possible combinations taken by the constraint’s parameters without explicitly enumerating all com...

The Maximum Agreement Forest problem has been extensively studied in phylogenetics. Most previous work is on two binary phylogenetic trees. In this paper, we study a generalized version of the problem: the Maximum Agreement Forest problem on multiple rooted multifurcating phylogenetic trees, from the perspective of fixed-parameter algorithms. By taking advantage of a new branch-and-bound strate...

We consider reoptimization (i.e., the solution of a problem based on information available from solving a similar problem) for branch-and-bound algorithms and propose a generic framework to construct a reoptimizing branch-and-bound algorithm. We apply this to an elevator scheduling algorithm solving similar subproblems to generate columns using branchand-bound. Our results indicate that reoptim...

In this paper, a branch and bound algorithm for computing the treewidth of a graph is presented. The method incorporates extensions of existing results, and uses new pruning and reduction rules, based upon properties of the adopted branching strategy. We discuss how the algorithm can not only be used to obtain exact bounds for the treewidth, but also to obtain upper and/or lower bounds. Computa...