Inaugural lecture Ward Romeijnders: Optimization Under Uncertainty: Looking to the Future

On Friday, June 13, Ward Romeijnders, Professor of Optimization Under Uncertainty, will deliver his inaugural lecture titled "Optimization Under Uncertainty: Looking to the Future.” In his lecture, Romeijnders discusses how to make informed decisions in a world full of uncertainty. Whether planning operations in a hospital, investing in the power grid, or managing pension funds-uncertainty plays a crucial role everywhere. Romeijnders explains that seemingly disparate real-world problems can often be modeled with the same mathematical models. He argues that understanding and solving these optimization problems under uncertainty is essential to address complex societal challenges.

Challenges to Optimization Under Uncertainty

In his inaugural lecture, Romeijnders discusses several challenges involved in optimization under uncertainty. He shows how data for more uncertain factors -such as operation time, electricity consumption or market trends- must be translated into mathematical models that describe decision problems. A fundamental obstacle to this is the exponential number of possible scenarios for the future that must be taken into account. To still be able to solve these complex problems, Romeijnders develops advanced decomposition algorithms: clever computational methods that break down the original problem into simpler sub-problems. These algorithms make it possible to solve realistic decision models within acceptable computational time. During his lecture, Romeijnders will also address the interplay between optimization under uncertainty and artificial intelligence, and discuss how these techniques can contribute to current social issues, including the energy transition.

More information:

Ward Romeijnder's inaugural lecture will take place on Friday 13 June 2025, 16:15 - 17:00, in the Aula of the Academy Building.

Please register by the 10th of June via the registration form.

Livestream on 13 june 2025, see: www.rug.nl/digitale-oratie