International Symposium on Mathematical Programming 2009; Chicago, IL; August 2009

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This project supports travel by graduate students, postdoctoralassociates, and young faculty members from US institutions to theInternational Symposium in Mathematical Programming (ISMP), to be heldon August 23-28, 2009, in Chicago, Illinois. This year's ISMP is thetwentieth conference in a series that began in 1949 and is held aboutevery three years. ISMP is the major conference for the optimization /mathematical programming community and is a must-attend event forresearchers in the area worldwide. The attendance has grown from about40 participants in 1949 to over 1400 at more recent gatherings. Aboutevery second or third ISMP is held in the US. Further information onISMP 2009 can be found at http://www.ismp2009.org. ISMP provides themain forum for the exchange of ideas in optimization, and inparticular for cross-fertilization between the discrete, continuous,and stochastic aspects of the discipline. The major professionalprizes in optimization, which are decided by juries assembled by MPSand co-sponsoring societies AMS and SIAM, are awarded during theopening ceremony of ISMP. Particularly notable is the Tucker Prize,which is awarded to the best student thesis written during the threeyears preceding ISMP. It has been a long-standing tradition to hold atechnical session at ISMP during which the three student finalistspresent their work; this session is always a highlight of the meeting.The project provides reimbursement of travel costs for at least 25graduate students and young researchers from US institutions to attendISMP 2009, to a level of up to $800 per participant. ISMP is thepremier conference in optimization, held triennially. Optimization isa field of mathematical and computational research that concernsitself with finding the best way to operate a system subject torestrictions on the choices that can be made. It has applications in agreat many areas of science, engineering, and commerce, which areillustrated by the following three examples. First, optimization is avital tool in designing radiation treatment plans for cancer patients,where the goal is to irradiate and thus destroy tumors while sparinghealthy tissue. Second, optimization is used in designing mechanicalparts for vehicles and machines that have minimum weight and costwhile meeting certain strength and robustness requirements. Third,optimization is used in budget planning for businesses, to allocateresources in a way that maximizes expected profit in an uncertaineconomic environment. Support of attendance by young US researchers atISMP will be of great benefit to their careers and researchprograms. It will eventually have important positive benefits for USindustry, science, and technology. Applications for support will besolicited and reviewed by a committee of optimizationresearchers. Awardees will be chosen to ensure breadth and diversityof individuals and institutions represented, and to ensureparticipation of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities inISMP 2009.