Recently, Google DeepMind made waves with a blog post about AlphaEvolve, a new LLM-based tool that writes its own algorithms to crack notoriously difficult math problems. Just weeks after Google published new best-known solutions for 13 previously unsolved problems using AlphaEvolve, a team from the MODAL research campus developed formulations that were solved with FICO Xpress, outperforming AlphaEvolve’s results and setting new records in solution quality on several challenging benchmarks, including circle packing and the minimization of distance ratios. This...Read More
Gioni Mexi, Deborah Hendrych, Sébastien Designolle, Mathieu Besançon, and Sebastian Pokutta were awarded the Land-Doig Competition Prize 2025 at the Mixed-Integer Programming Workshop 2025 for the best contribution to the heuristic solution of Mixed-Integer Quadratic Optimization Problems (MIQP and MIQCQP). The competition focused on the development of innovative primal heuristics that can quickly generate high-quality feasible solutions. The awarded contribution extended Boscia.jl – developed at the Zuse Institute Berlin – with novel Frank-Wolfe-based large neighborhood search heuristics, as well as...Read More
The MODAL-Forschungscampus proudly announces the successful extension of the MATH+ Cluster of Excellence, which will receive continued funding for another seven years under the Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments. This renewed support recognizes the world-class research achievements of the cluster and affirms Berlin’s standing as a global hub for applications-driven mathematical innovation. As a key institutional partner, ZIB plays a central role in advancing MATH+’s interdisciplinary mission. “This funding confirms the strength of our research at...Read More
