In particular, we will be offering workshops that describe the software systems we offer on the computers in the PSCS Lab. These workshops are open to all, but space is limited. A number of different EAs have been studied, but they all share some common elments and processes. The better structures are allowed to reproduce and the structures which do not perform as well are eliminated. Variation is introduced into the offspring structures, providing a mechanism for exploration of the space of possible structures.
Many variants perform no better or even worse than the parents, but some offspring perform better.
This generational process is repeated, leading to continuing adaptation of the structures. By defining the appropriate structures and evaluation function, EAs have been used in a wide variety of search and optimization problems, as well as in many different kinds of machine learning systems. Examples of each EA will be discussed, and the differences between the approaches will be outlined. Handouts will include references to sources of further information, including software packages available in the PSCS Lab and via the Internet. The workshop is free, but registration is limited.