EPSRC ISN Workshop on
Applications of Constraint Programming in Scheduling
Tuesday September 9th - Wednesday September 10th 2003
University of Huddersfield
Constraint Programming is a problem-solving approach that has
successfully been used to solve scheduling problems. Problems are defined
in terms of constraints, that describe the relationships between the
problem unknowns. A key feature of constraint programming is constraint
propagation: the constraints are used to derive new information on the
consequences of decisions made during problem-solving. On top of this
basic framework, a variety of algorithms and heuristics can be built.
Talks at the workshop will discuss how constraint programming can be applied to scheduling problems of various kinds. An introductory talk, by Barbara Smith,
will illustrate the principles of constraint programming, by presenting
a specific problem and different ways of solving it. It is intended that the workshop should be accessible to attendees with a background in scheduling but little or no knowledge of constraint programming.
Wim Nuijten is Senior Director, Optimization Technology, for ILOG. ILOG
supply optimization software, including Solver (for constraint-based
optimization) and Scheduler (a supplement to Solver for scheduling
resources and tasks). Wim is a co-author, with Philippe Baptiste and
Claude Le Pape, of "Constraint Based Scheduling" published by Kluwer in
2001.
Mark Wallace is Deputy Director of IC-PARC, the Centre for Planning and
Resource Control at Imperial College London. He leads the development of
the ECLiPSe constraint programming environment at IC-PARC and was involved
in its beginnings at the European Computer-Industry Research Centre (ECRC)
in Munich in the early 1990s. His main interests are in hybrid
algorithms, combining mathematical programming and constraint programming.
- Mark Wallace,
Scheduling and Schedule Repair for the Transportation Industry.
- Wim Nuijten,
Constraint-Based Scheduling: Past, Present, and Future.
- Chris Beck, Cork Constraints Computation Centre, University College Cork.
On-line Prediction of Algorithm Performance
(Paper)
- Ken Brown, University College Cork.
Constraint and online scheduling: a survey
(Powerpoint slides)
- Raphael Dorne, BTExact Technologies.
iSchedule: an Optimisation Framework for Scheduling Problems
(Powerpoint slides)
- Nakorn Indra-Payoong, University of Leeds.
A Randomised Algorithm with Prediction for Rail Container Service Planning
(Paper)
- Patrick Prosser,
University of Glasgow.
Vehicle Routing and Job Shop Scheduling: What's the difference?
(Powerpoint slides)
- Barbara Smith,
University of Huddersfield.
Constraint Programming in Practice: Scheduling a Rehearsal
(Powerpoint slides)
(Paper)
The workshop will run for two half-days, Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning.
The workshop fee is £50 and includes lunch on both days. Attendees should complete the registration form and return it with their payment by 29 August.
A limited number of free places will be available for PhD students.
Requests for a place should be sent as soon as possible by email to
Barbara Smith
(b.m.smith @ hud.ac.uk) with a supporting email from the supervisor.
There are two town centre hotels in Huddersfield, the George Hotel (next the train station) and the Huddersfield Hotel (between the train station and the campus). There is limited availability at these hotels and attendees coming by car are asked to book rooms instead at the Briar Court or one of the Premier Lodges.
- The George Hotel. The University rate is £60 per night, which attendees can claim by asking for the Scheduling workshop rate.
- The Huddersfield Hotel also has a University rate, of £41 for a single room, claimed similarly.
- Briar Court Hotel is approximately 2 miles from the town centre and close to junction 24 of the M62. The University rate is £59.
- There are two Premier Lodges very close to junctions 24 and 25 of the M62, with rooms at £48 per night.
Maps of Huddersfield and the University campus are available, with a link to travel information.
Last modified: 11 September 2003