WORKSHOP: Participation of Graduate Students in a Workshop on PDE-Constrained Optimization, Santa Fe New Mexico, April 4-6, 2001

Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh PA

Investigators

Abstract

Optimal design, optimal control, and parameter estimation of systems governed by partial differen-tial equations give rise to a class of problems known as PDE-constrained optimization. The size and complexity of the discretized PDE constraints often pose significant challenges for contemporary optimization methods. Recent advances in algorithms, software, and high performance computing systems have resulted in PDE simulations that can often scale to millions of variables, thousands of processors, and multiple physics interactions. As PDE solvers mature, there is increasing in-dustrial and scientific interest in solving optimization problems governed by such large-scale PDE simulations. To address the challenges of these problems the investigators have organized a workshop on PDE-constrained optimization on April 4-6,2001, in Santa Fe, NM. The goals of the workshop are to identify the needs and opportunities for PDE-constrained optimization in industry and the national labs, to assess the state of the art in PDE-constrained optimization, to identify barriers to PDE-constrained optimization presented by modern simulation codes, and to discuss promising algorithmic and software approaches for overcoming these barriers. Sandia National Laboratories will sponsor the workshop itself. to expose a new generation of researchers to this rapidly growing area of research, the investigators will use this grant to support students attending and participating in the workshop.