They are used by industry in planning, design, marketing, and distribution. The CRPC Parallel Optimization group is developing parallel algorithms motivated by applications for optimization calculations on parallel machines. The overall goal of the Parallel Optimization project is to learn to use parallel computer systems to solve optimization problems of interest to industry and academia in which lack of computing speed or power are the major bottlenecks.
Major emphasis is on linear and integer programming and on multidisciplinary design optimization.
John Dennis ' research is on practical methods for optimization with particular interest in parallel methods for nonlinear optimization of systems described by coupled nonlinear simulations. He has served as chair of the SIAM Activity Group for Optimization, and he served two terms on the SIAM Council. He has done extensive consulting for United States industry, has been a Fullbright Lecturer to Argentina, and has published his algorithm research in several widely disseminated software journals. Dennis has given many short courses and featured addresses at international conferences. He has directed 27 Ph.D. theses, and his students hold positions in industry, government, and academic departments of business, mathematics, computer science, and applied mathematics.