Distributionally robust optimization

Decision-making concerning distributional uncertainty

Ambiguity of distriubtions
Distributionally robust optimization addresses optimization problems under uncertain probability distributions by considering a set of potential distributions rather than a single known distribution. It aims to find solutions that perform well across all possible distributions within the set, providing robustness against model misspecification and ensuring performance under various scenarios.
$$\min_{x \in \mathcal{X}} \max_{p \in \mathcal{P}} E_p[f(x,\xi)]$$
Our research contributions include proposing various distributionally robust optimization methods, such as kernel-based and Sinkhorn-based approaches, and demonstrating their efficacy through numerical examples and optimization problems. These methods offer advantages over existing approaches and show superior performance in handling uncertainty.

Relevant publications:
  • S. Yang, S. Kammammettu, Z. Li. Data-Driven Distributionally Robust Chance-Constrained Optimization with Large Data Set and Outliers: Sequential Sample Removal Algorithm for Solution Improvement Computers & Chemical Engineering. 2023, 179, 108407.
  • S. Yang, Z. Li. Distributionally Robust Chance-Constrained Optimization with Sinkhorn Ambiguity Set. AIChE Journal. 2023, accepted.
  • S. Kammammettu, S. Yang, Z. Li. Distributionally Robust Optimization using Optimal Transport for Gaussian Mixture Models. Optimization and Engineering. 2023, accepted.
  • S. Yang, Z. Li. Distributionally Robust Chance-Constrained Optimization with Deep Kernel Ambiguity Set. The 7th International Symposium on Advanced Control of Industrial Processes, Vancouver, Canada, 2022.
  • S. Yang, Z. Li. Kernel Distributionally Robust Chance-Constrained Process Optimization. Computers & Chemical Engineering. 2022, 165, 107953.