News & Events

Dear colleagues and friends,

On Monday, December 8th, 2025, the CAO Christmas Party will take place for the first time! The celebration starts at 6:00 PM at the "math2" meeting area, Pontdriesch 14-16, 2nd floor (premises of the Chair and Research Group for Discrete Optimization).

It would be wonderful if everyone could contribute a food donation to the buffet. There is a buffet list where you can enter your contribution:

Sign Up for Buffet

Beverages will be provided.

Please send us your RSVP via hermanns@math2.rwth-aachen.de (Dina Hermanns) by November 24, 2025.

Best regards,
Arie, Britta & Christina

In August 2025, the Center for Algorithmics and Optimization at RWTH Aachen University hosted FRICO 2025, a three day workshop organized by PhD students from various institutes within our center. We held the workshop at the iconic Super C building, which offers a nice view of Aachen's skyline and its historic cathedral.

Over the course of three days, we had the pleasure of welcoming 52 speakers from universities in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. The event was filled with fantastic presentations from both familiar faces and many new participants. A fresh addition this year was FRICO's first-ever invited speaker: Prof. Jannik Matuschke from KU Leuven delivered an engaging talk titled "Algorithms and Certificates for Popular Branchings and Matchings: What Happens When a French Revolutionist Meets LP Duality?"—a perfect way to wrap up the workshop.

A big thank you goes out to the organizing team behind FRICO 2025, namely Tim Donkiewicz, Felix Engelhardt, Lennart Kauther, Liam Nyssen, Philipp Pabst, and Vladimir Stadnichuk. Special appreciation is due to Dina Hermanns for her dedicated assistance in planning the workshop and managing finances; Katharina Eickhoff for her support during the event; and Floris Groteclaes for designing the logo.

Even though this year's workshop was shorter than previous ones, we still enjoyed a lively social program that included an outdoor event at Aachen's university sports center, a pub quiz, a bakery tour at Klein's Printen, and a conference dinner.

None of this would have been possible without our sponsors: Siemens, Gurobi Optimization, IVU Traffic Technologies, and DHL Data & AI. They also showcased their work during FRICO. We'd also like to extend our gratitude to gapzero—a local startup from Aachen—for their generous donation.

Looking ahead, we're excited to see what Ekin Ergen, Srinwanti Debgupta, and Lizaveta Manzhulina have in store as they prepare for next year's FRICO at Technische Universität Berlin!

In October 2024, RWTH Aachen University celebrated the official opening of the Center for Algorithmics and Optimization, marking a significant milestone in interdisciplinary research collaboration at one of Europe's leading technical universities.

The center was established through a comprehensive collaboration agreement signed by representatives from multiple departments, including the Department of Computer Science, Department of Mathematics, School of Business and Economics, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, and Faculty of Civil Engineering.

This interdisciplinary center brings together renowned experts from various fields to tackle complex optimization problems and algorithmic challenges that span across traditional academic boundaries. The collaboration represents a unique opportunity to foster innovation in areas such as combinatorial optimization, machine learning, network analysis, and computational economics.

The center's mission is to advance the state-of-the-art in algorithmic research while providing practical solutions to real-world problems in industry and society. With its diverse team of researchers and strong industry partnerships, the center is positioned to become a leading hub for optimization research in Europe.

The opening ceremony featured presentations from the center's founding members and outlined the ambitious research agenda that will drive the center's activities in the coming years. The event highlighted the center's commitment to excellence in research, education, and knowledge transfer.

The Center for Algorithmics and Optimization is proud to announce the launch of the Gerhard Woeginger Memorial Colloquium, a distinguished lecture series honoring the memory of one of the most influential researchers in theoretical computer science and combinatorial optimization.

Prof. Gerhard Woeginger (1963-2021) was a renowned computer scientist whose contributions to algorithm design, complexity theory, and combinatorial optimization have had a lasting impact on the field. His work spanned numerous areas including approximation algorithms, scheduling theory, and computational complexity, and he was known for his exceptional ability to bridge theory and practice.

The colloquium series features world-class speakers who present cutting-edge research in algorithmics and optimization. Each talk is designed to honor Woeginger's legacy by showcasing innovative approaches to computational problems and their real-world applications.

The inaugural season includes presentations from leading researchers across Europe and beyond, covering topics such as vehicle routing problems, flow time scheduling, network algorithms, and theoretical foundations of optimization. The speakers represent some of the most prestigious institutions in computer science and mathematics.

We invite the entire RWTH community and the broader research community to join us for these inspiring presentations. The colloquium serves not only as a platform for scientific exchange but also as a tribute to Woeginger's enduring influence on algorithmic research.