Date: October 3, 2025
Speaker: Bistra Dilkina, Associate Professor of Computer Science, University of Southern California
Title: Machine Learning meets Combinatorial Optimization
Abstract: Machine learning and discrete optimization have both made significant strides in methodology and in successful applications. In this talk, I show how their fusion can provide the next big step change in solving hard combinatorial optimization problems more effectively. Integrating ML into combinatorial solving, I show we can train ML models to guide key components of existing combinatorial optimization algorithms, using distributions of related optimization instances as training data and leveraging techniques like contrastive loss and multi-task learning. Conversely, integrating combinatorial solving into ML, I introduce the concept of decision-focused learning that is tailored to settings when ML models’ outputs guide downstream combinatorial decision making.
Bio: Bistra Dilkina is an associate professor of computer science at the University of Southern California and the inaugural Dr. Allen and Charlotte Ginsburg Early Career Chair at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. Dilkina is co-director of the USC Center of AI in Society, co-director of the USC ORAI Graduate program, and leads the USC Site for the NSF AI Institute for Advances in Optimization (Ai4OPT). Her research and teaching are centered around the integration of machine learning and discrete optimization, with a strong focus on AI applications in computational sustainability and social impact, such as biodiversity conservation, climate and disaster resilience, and public health. She received her Ph.D. from Cornell University in 2012 and was a post-doctoral associate at the Institute for Computational Sustainability. Her work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Health, DHS Center of Excellence Critical Infrastructure Resilience Institute, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Microsoft, and Qualcomm, among others. She has over 100 publications and has co-organized or served as a chair to numerous workshops, tutorials, and special tracks at major conferences.