The next seminar will be given on the Thursday, September 10th, 2026, 14am in B014 room, by Gabriela Ochoa, professor in Computer Science at Stirling University, Scotland.
Title:
Optimisation Trajectories Illuminated
Abstract:
Many nature-inspired optimisation algorithms have been proposed over the last 30 years. It is unclear, however, to what extent recent algorithms are « new », or how and why to select one of them to solve a given task. How do we truly understand algorithmic behaviour beyond final performance metrics? Traditional comparisons rely on end-of-run metrics and convergence curves, which, while useful, often become cluttered and, crucially, only reveal progress in fitness (objective) space. This overlooks critical insights into how variants explore and exploit genotype and phenotype spaces, often concealing search bottlenecks and fundamental behavioural differences. Search trajectory networks (STNs) are a data-driven, graph-based modelling tool to analyse, visualise and contrast the behaviour of different types of optimisation algorithms. STNs offer a visual and intuitive fresh perspective to explain and interpret search and optimisation. This talk overviews our methodology, including recent developments: applications to neuroevolution, genetic programming and multi-objective optimisation; as well as the development of a web-based tool (STN Analytics: https://www.stn-analytics.com/ ) to support the adoption of STNs.