GE 531 — Genetic Algorithms in Search, Optimization, and Machine Learning

COURSE REFERENCE NUMBER (CRN): 45766

Course Description: Genetic algorithms are search procedures based on the mechanics of natural genetics and natural selection. They combine Darwinian survival of the fittest with recombination and other genetic operators to form a search mechanism with surprising breadth of application and efficiency. Genetic algorithms have been applied to such diverse areas as computer-aided design, communications network design, VLSI layout, immune system simulation, the prisoner's dilemma problem, neural network adaptation and design, protein folding and chemometrics, and horse race handicapping. Genetic algorithms are also receiving greater attention in machine learning, where they can be used in classifier systems, a form of learning expert systems, or in genetic programming, where the genetic algorithm discovers better computing programs for performing the task at hand. In the course, the theory and application of genetic algorithms and other forms of evolutionary computation are studied.

Home Page: http://online.engr.uiuc.edu/webcourses/ge531/

Prerequisites: Calculus of several variables plus introduction to computing with application to engineering and physical science.

Credit: 4 hours (counts toward a certificate in Systems Engineering)

Instructor: David Goldberg