Éric Taillard

Prof. Éric Taillard (University of Applied Sciences of Western Switzerland, Yverdon, Switzerland) can be seen as one of the leading scientists in the field of combinatrial optimization with a special focus on so-called metaheuristics. These methods serve as a general framework for heuristic search procedures, which rely on metaphors like genetic algorithms, neural networks and are generally inspired by natural processes, including ant colonies and specialized derivatives like Tabu Search or Scatter Search. Since many decades Mr. Taillard is well-known for his specialist knowledge and computational implementation skills (quadratic assignment, travelling salesman, location problems and many more). In addition, he has contributed with excellent research foundations in the respective area, i.e. algorithmic design and statistical evaluation.