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The MOPTA conference (Modeling and Optimization: Theory and Applications, https://coral.ise.lehigh.edu/mopta2025/) has been around for many years, since 2001 to be precise. It usually takes place in America, but this year, in 2025, European and American scientists can meet in the middle, so to speak, because it is being held in the Azores in June 2025.

In June 2025, scientists from all over the world will meet on Sao Miguel, the main island of the Azores, to exchange scientific ideas. The research of the Gummersbach campus is attracting attention in this international circle, as Prof. Wolfgang Konen was invited by Don Jones, one of the co-organizers of the conference, to speak about his research area of constrained optimization as an invited speaker. This is a special honor, because normally one has to undergo a more or less extensive review process.

Constrained optimization means that you not only want to minimize a target value (e.g. fuel consumption of a car), but also have to comply with one or more constraints (e.g. concerning the statics of the car). Years ago, Wolfgang Konen, together with Samineh Bagheri (former PhD student) and Prof. Thomas Bäck from Leiden University, developed the R package SACOBRA for constrained optimization, which is still one of the leading software packages in this field. A port of the R software to Python is currently in progress.

The MOPTA conference in the Azores will also offer many opportunities for networking. Last but not least, the beautiful landscape of the Azores, which will also be visited on short excursions, will be inviting.

Sete Cidades, the famous landscape formation (a green and a blue lake) in the Azores.