The multiple-choice multidimensional knapsack problem (MMKP) is a well-known NP-hard combinatorial optimization problem with a number of important applications. In this paper, we present a “reduce and solve” heuristic approach which combines problem reduction techniques with an Integer...

The maximum clique problem (MCP) is to determine in a graph a clique (i.e., a complete subgraph) of maximum cardinality. The MCP is notable for its capability of modeling other combinatorial problems and real-world applications. As one of the most studied NP-hard problems, many algorithms are...

The Steiner tree problem (STP) is one of the most popular combinatorial optimization problems with various practical applications. In this paper, we propose a Breakout Local Search (BLS) algorithm for an important generalization of the STP: the Steiner tree problem with revenue, budget and hop...

This paper presents two path relinking algorithms to solve the unconstrained binary quadratic programming (UBQP) problem. One is based on a greedy strategy to generate the relinking path from the initial solution to the guiding solution and the other operates in a random way. We show extensive...

This paper presents an adaptive neighborhood search method (ANS) for solving the nurse rostering problem proposed for the First International Nurse Rostering Competition (INRC-2010). ANS uses jointly two distinct neighborhood moves and adaptively switches among three intensification and...

This paper presents an Adaptive Tabu Search algorithm (denoted by ATS) for solving a problem of curriculum-based course timetabling. The proposed algorithm follows a general framework composed of three phases: initialization, intensification and diversification. The initialization phase...

Given an undirected graph G=(V,E) with a set V of vertices and a set E of edges, the graph coloring problem consists of partitioning all vertices into k independent sets and the number of used colors k is minimized. This paper presents a memetic algorithm (denoted by MACOL) for solving the...

This paper presents a hybrid metaheuristic approach (HMA) for solving the unconstrained binary quadratic programming (UBQP) problem. By incorporating a tabu search procedure into the framework of evolutionary algorithms, the proposed approach exhibits several distinguishing features, including a...

The Maximum Diversity Problem (MDP) consists in selecting a subset of m elements from a given set of n elements (nm) in such a way that the sum of the pairwise distances between the m chosen elements is maximized. We present a hybrid metaheuristic algorithm (denoted by MAMDP) for MDP. The...