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Metaheuristics

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Encyclopedia of Operations Research and Management Science

Introduction

A metaheuristic is a high-level problem-independent algorithmic framework that provides a set of guidelines or strategies to develop heuristic optimization algorithms. The term is also used to refer to a problem-specific implementation of a heuristic optimization algorithm according to the guidelines expressed in such a framework. It combines the Greek prefix meta- (μετά, beyond in the sense of high-level) with heuristic (from the Greek heuriskein or \( \upvarepsilon \upupsilon \uprho \upiota \upsigma \upchi \upvarepsilon \upiota \upnu, \) to search) and was coined by Fred Glover in 1986.

Most metaheuristic frameworks have their origin in the 1980s (although in some cases roots can be traced to the mid 1960s and 1970s) and were proposed as an alternative to classic methods of optimization such as branch-and-bound and dynamic programming. As a means for solving difficult optimization problems, metaheuristics have enjoyed a steady rise in both use and popularity since the...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium

    Kenneth Sörensen

  2. OptTek Systems, Inc., 1919 Seventh Street, Boulder, CO, 80302, USA

    Fred W. Glover

  3. University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA

    Fred W. Glover

Authors
  1. Kenneth Sörensen
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  2. Fred W. Glover
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Correspondence to Kenneth Sörensen .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

    Saul I. Gass

  2. Robert H. Smith School of Business and Institute for Systems Research, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

    Michael C. Fu

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Sörensen, K., Glover, F.W. (2013). Metaheuristics. In: Gass, S.I., Fu, M.C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Operations Research and Management Science. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1153-7_1167

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