This course covers the fundamentals of optimization, from formulating a mathematical optimization problem from a problem description, to solving a mathematical optimization problem using numerical algorithms in optimization software, with an emphasis on convex optimization. The main topics include: linear algebra overview; convex sets and convex functions; convex optimization; duality theory and optimality criteria, Karush-Kuhn-Tucker conditions; reinforcement learning; unconstrained optimization algorithms: gradient method, Newton's method, quasi-Newton methods; constrained optimization algorithms: conditional gradient method, gradient projection method, alternating direction method of multipliers, interior point method, primal-dual method; stochastic gradient descent; distributed optimization; global search algorithms. Students will acquire not only theoretical knowledge of optimization, but also hands-on experience with optimization methods and software through assignments and a project.

This course covers the fundamentals of optimization, from formulating a mathematical optimization problem from a problem description, to solving a mathematical optimization problem using numerical algorithms in optimization software, with an emphasis on convex optimization. The main topics include: linear algebra overview; convex sets and convex functions; convex optimization; duality theory and optimality criteria, Karush-Kuhn-Tucker conditions; reinforcement learning; unconstrained optimization algorithms: gradient method, Newton's method, quasi-Newton methods; constrained optimization algorithms: conditional gradient method, gradient projection method, alternating direction method of multipliers, interior point method, primal-dual method; stochastic gradient descent; distributed optimization; global search algorithms. Students will acquire not only theoretical knowledge of optimization, but also hands-on experience with optimization methods and software through assignments and a project.

This course is aimed at sharing knowledge and experiences in the solar energy and technology area. The goal is to provide students a general summary of the solar energy industries, their technologies, and prospectus in the future alternative energy field. It is also the hope that students will be able to utilize their knowledge in other related fields such as battery and energies.