Nikolaos V. Sahinidis
John E. Swearingen Professor of Chemical Engineering

Office: Doherty Hall 4210C
Phone: (412) 268-3338
Fax: (412) 268-7139
Email: sahinidis@cmu.edu
Secretary: Laura Shaheen
    Phone: (412) 268-6344
    Fax: (412) 268-7139
    lr23@andrew.cmu.edu

Biography
Research Interests
Highlights
Awards and Honors
Publications
Research Group Site

Biography

Professor Nick Sahinidis received his Diploma in Chemical Engineering from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece in 1986 and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1990.

Between 1991 and 2007, he served on the faculty of the University of Illinois at Urbana, initially as an Assistant Professor and Associate Professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering and later as an Associate Professor and Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. In 2007, he moved to Carnegie Mellon University, where he is now John E. Swearingen Professor of Chemical Engineering.

He has served on the editorial boards of many journals, including Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Journal of Global Optimization, Mathematical Programming Computation, Optimization and Engineering, Optimization Letters, and Optimization Methods and Software. He has also served in numerous positions within INFORMS (Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences) and AIChE (American Institute of Chemical Engineers). He is currently the chair of the INFORMS Optimization Society.

His doctoral advisees are members of the faculty at major research universities, including Georgia Institute of Technology and Purdue University, and leading industrial laboratories, including those of American Airlines, BPAmoco, and ExxonMobil.

Back to Top

Research Interests

Professor Sahinidis concentrates on optimization in biology, chemistry, medicine, and engineering.

Informatics Problems in Chemistry, Biology, and Medicine
With the recent accumulation of vast amounts of chemical, biological, and clinical data, many scientific fields are becoming increasingly data-driven as opposed to model-driven. This paradigm shift has brought about many challenging computational problems. Even though these problems originate from very disparate fields, they have very similar mathematical structures. In particular, they involve the use of a merit function to evaluate alternatives from very large, typically combinatorial, search spaces. Professor Sahinidis’ work in this area provides comprehensive and rigorous solutions to inverse imaging problems in X-ray crystallography, modeling and estimation of dynamic metabolic and signaling pathways, structural bioinformatics, medical diagnosis and prognosis, and the design of novel chemicals that are environmentally benign.

Optimization Theory, Algorithms, and Software
A plethora of problems in science and engineering require the solution of nonlinear optimization problems with multiple local solutions. Professor Sahinidis’ research has recently led to the development of an all-purpose, rigorous global optimization methodology. His results have included the development of a unifying framework for domain reduction; a theory of convex extensions that provides strong relaxations for a variety of mathematical programs; an entirely linear outer-approximation scheme for global optimization problems; finite branching schemes for certain continuous nonconvex problem classes; and the global optimization software BARON. Scientists and engineers have used the BARON software in many application areas, including the development of new Runge-Kutta methods for partial differential equations, energy policy making, modeling and design of metabolic processes, product and process design, engineering design, and automatic control. The ultimate goal of this research thrust is to provide precise and valuable computational optimization tools that will allow engineers and scientists to solve problems that are currently considered intractable. Towards this end, projects pursue fundamental advances in linear and nonlinear optimization, and the development of advanced computing technologies for optimization.

Back to Top

Highlights

The Sahinidis research group grew to 17 students and postdocs (16 at CMU and 1 at UIUC).

Joined the Editorial Board of Computational Management Science, the eleventh editorial board on which Nick serves.

Nick's h-index reached 23 (according to the ISI/Web of Science), which compares very favorably with contemporaries focusing on the optimization area, including those outside chemical engineering (mainly in Business Schools, Industrial Engineering, and Operations Research departments).

Nick's special topics graduate courses have consistently attracted over 20 students every year they were offered.

Increased service in the department. As chair of the hiring committee, Nick's initiatives led to a 50% increase in the number of faculty applicants.

Back to Top

Awards and Honors

• 2010 CAST Division Computing in Chemical Engineering Award

• 2008 Named to John E. Swearingen Chair, Carnegie Mellon University

• 2006 Beale-Orchard-Hays Prize, Mathematical Programming Society

• 2006 Bayer Lectureship, Carnegie Mellon University

• 2005-2008 University Scholar, University of Illinois

• 2005 Center for Advanced Study Associate, University of Illinois

• 2004 INFORMS Computing Society Prize

• 1999 AIChE CAST Director’s Award

• 1998 NSF/Lucent Technologies Industrial Ecology Fellowship

• 1995 NSF CAREER Award

Back to Top

Publications

       Recent Publications

       Selected Publications

       Full Publications

Back to Top

Recent Publications

Sahinidis, N. V., Optimization techniques in molecular structure and function elucidation, Computers and Chemical Engineering, 33, 2055–2062, 2009.

Bao, X., N. V. Sahinidis, and M. Tawarmalani, Multiterm polyhedral relaxations for nonconvex, quadratically-constrained quadratic programs, Optimization Methods and Software, 24, 485-504, 2009.

Ong, B. Y. S., S. H. Ranganath, L. Y. Lee, F. Lu, H.-S. Lee, N. V. Sahinidis, and C.-H. Wang, Paclitaxel delivery from PLGA foams for controlled release in post-surgical chemotherapy against glioblastoma multiforme, Biomaterials, 30, 3189–3196, 2009.

Xu, H., A. B. Smith, N. V. Sahinidis, and C. M. Weeks, SnB version 2.3: Triplet sieve phasing for centrosymmetric structures, Journal of Applied Crystallography, 41, 644-646, 2008.

Xie, W. and N. V. Sahinidis, A branch-and-bound algorithm for the continuous facility layout problem, Computers & Chemical Engineering, 32(4-5), 1016-1028 (2008).

Ahmed, S. and N. V. Sahinidis, Selection, acquisition, and allocation of manufacturing technology in a multi-product environment, European Journal of Operational Research, 189, 807–821, 2008.

Back to Publications

Selected Publications

Xie, W. and N. V. Sahinidis, A reduction-based exact algorithm for the contact map overlap problem, Journal of Computational Biology, 14(5), 637–654, 2007.

Tawarmalani, M. and N. V. Sahinidis, A polyhedral branch-and-cut approach to global optimization, Mathematical Programming, Ser. B, 103, 225-249, 2005.

Ahmed, S. and N. V. Sahinidis, An approximation scheme for stochastic integer programs arising in capacity expansion, Operations Research, 51(3), 461-471, 2003.

Lang, Y-D and Biegler, L.T. "A Distributed Stream Method for Tray Optimization," AIChE J., 48(3), pp. 582-595 (2002).

Shectman, J. P. and N. V. Sahinidis, A finite algorithm for global minimization of separable concave programs, Journal of Global Optimization, 12(1), 1-36, 1998

Sahinidis, N. V. and I. E. Grossmann, MINLP model for cyclic multiproduct scheduling on continuous parallel lines, Computers & Chemical Engineering, 15(2), 85-103, 1991.

Back to Publications

Full Publications

1. Elble, J. M., N. V. Sahinidis, and P. Vouzis, GPU computing with Kaczmarz's and other iterative algorithms for linear systems, Parallel Computing. 36 pp 5-6, 2010.

2. Elble, J. M. and N. V. Sahinidis, Matrix binormalization on a GPU, Lecture Notes in Computer Science. accepted.

3. Rios, L. M. and N. V. Sahinidis, Portfolio optimization for wealth-dependent risk preferences, Annals of Operations Research, 177 pp 63-90, 2010

4. Sahinidis, N. V., Optimization techniques in molecular structure and function elucidation, Computers and Chemical Engineering, 33, 2055–2062, 2009.

5. Bao, X., N. V. Sahinidis, and M. Tawarmalani, Multiterm polyhedral relaxations for nonconvex, quadratically-constrained quadratic programs, Optimization Methods and Software, 24, 485-504, 2009.

6. Ong, B. Y. S., S. H. Ranganath, L. Y. Lee, F. Lu, H.-S. Lee, N. V. Sahinidis, and C.-H. Wang, Paclitaxel delivery from PLGA foams for controlled release in post-surgical chemotherapy against glioblastoma multiforme, Biomaterials, 30, 3189–3196, 2009.

7. Ong, B. Y. S., S. H. Ranganath, L. Y. Lee, F. Lu, H.-S. Lee, N. V. Sahinidis, and C.-H. Wang, Advanced Paclitaxel Delivery Foams for Controlled Release in Post-surgical Chemotherapy against Glioblastoma Multiforme, Biomaterials, submitted.

8. Elble, J. M., N. V. Sahinidis, and P. Vouzis, GPU computing with Kaczmarz's and other iterative algorithms for linear systems, Parallel Computing, submitted..

9. Bao, X., N. V. Sahinidis, and M. Tawarmalani, Multiterm polyhedral relaxations for nonconvex, quadratically-constrained quadratic programs, Optimization Methods and Software, submitted.

10. Elble, J. M. and N. V. Sahinidis, Matrix binormalization on a GPU, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, submitted.

11. Rios, L. M. and N. V. Sahinidis, Portfolio optimization for wealth-dependent risk preferences, Annals of Operations Research, accepted.

12. Xu, H., A. B. Smith, N. V. Sahinidis, and C. M. Weeks, SnB version 2.3: Triplet sieve phasing for centrosymmetric structures, Journal of Applied Crystallography, 41, 644-646, 2008.

13. Xie, W. and N. V. Sahinidis, A branch-and-bound algorithm for the continuous facility layout problem, Computers & Chemical Engineering, 32(4-5), 1016-1028 (2008).

14. Ahmed, S. and N. V. Sahinidis, Selection, acquisition, and allocation of manufacturing technology in a multi-product environment, European Journal of Operational Research, 189, 807–821, 2008.

15. Smith, A. B., H. Xu and N. V. Sahinidis, An integer minimal principle and triplet sieve method for phasing centrosymmetric structures, Acta Crystallographica A, 63(2), 164-171, 2007.

16. Naraharisetti, P. K., B. Y. S. Ong, J. W. Xie, T. K. Y. Lee, C.-H. Wang, and N. V. Sahinidis, In vivo performance of implantable biodegradable preparations delivering Paclitaxel and Etanidazole for the treatment of glioma, Biomaterials, 28(5), 886-894, 2007.

17. Xie, W. and N. V. Sahinidis, A reduction-based exact algorithm for the contact map overlap problem, Journal of Computational Biology, 14(5), 637–654, 2007.

18. Chang, Y. and N. V. Sahinidis, Global optimization in stabilizing controller design, Journal of Global Optimization, 38(4), 509-526, 2007.

19. Xie, W. and N. V. Sahinidis, A Branch-and-reduce algorithm for the contact map overlap problem, Proceedings of RECOMB 2006 (Research in Computational Molecular Biology), Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics, Vol. 3909, 516-529, Springer, 2006 (the acceptance rate at RECOMB 2006 was 18.5%).

20. Xie, W. and N. V. Sahinidis, Residue-rotamer-reduction algorithm for the protein side-chain conformation problem, Bioinformatics, 22(2), 188-194, 2006.

21. Sahinidis, N. V., M. T. Harandi, M. T. Heath, L. Murphy, M. Snir, R. P. Wheeler, and C. F. Zukoski, Establishing a Master’s degree program in bioinformatics: Challenges and opportunities, IEE Proceedings Systems Biology, 152(4), 269-275, 2005.

22. Sahinidis, N. V. and M. Tawarmalani, Accelerating branch-and-bound through a modeling language construct for relaxation-specific constraints, Journal of Global Optimization, 32, 259-280, 2005.

23. Vaia, A. and N. V. Sahinidis, Polynomial-time algorithms for the integer minimal principle for centrosymmetric structures, Acta Crystallographica A, 61, 445-452, 2005.

24. Tawarmalani, M. and N. V. Sahinidis, A polyhedral branch-and-cut approach to global optimization, Mathematical Programming, Ser. B, 103, 225-249, 2005.

25. Chang, Y. and N. V. Sahinidis, Optimization of metabolic pathways under stability considerations, Computers & Chemical Engineering, Special Issue on Systems Engineering Challenges and Opportunities in Systems Biology, 29(3), 467-479, 2005.

26. Tawarmalani, M. and N. V. Sahinidis, Global optimization of mixed-integer nonlinear programs: A theoretical and computational study, Mathematical Programming, Ser. A, 99(3), 563-591, 2004.

27. Ahmed, S., M. Tawarmalani, and N. V. Sahinidis, A finite branch-and-bound algorithm for two-stage stochastic integer programming, Mathematical Programming, Ser. A, 100(2), 355-377, 2004.

28. Sahinidis, N. V., Optimization under uncertainty: State-of-the-art and opportunities, Computers & Chemical Engineering, 28(6-7), 971-983, 2004.

29. Furman, K. C. and N. V. Sahinidis, Approximation algorithms for the minimum number of matches problem in HENS, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 43(14), 3554-3565, 2004.

30. Vaia, A. and N. V. Sahinidis, An integer programming approach to the phase problem for centrosymmetric structures, Acta Crystallographica A, 59(5), 452-458, 2003.

31. Sahinidis, N. V., M. Tawarmalani, and M. Yu, Design of alternative refrigerants via global optimization, AIChE Journal, 49(7), 1761-1775, 2003.

32. Ryoo, H. S. and N. V. Sahinidis, Global optimization of multiplicative programs, Journal of Global Optimization, 26(4), 387-418, 2003.

33. Vaia, A. and N. V. Sahinidis, Simultaneous parameter estimation and model structure determination in FTIR spectroscopy by global MINLP optimization, Computers & Chemical Engineering, 27(6), 763-779, 2003.

34. Ahmed, S. and N. V. Sahinidis, An approximation scheme for stochastic integer programs arising in capacity expansion, Operations Research, 51(3), 461-471, 2003.

35. Sahinidis, N. V., Global optimization and constraint satisfaction: The branch-and-reduce approach, pp. 1-16 in C. Bliek, C. Jermann, and A. Neumaier (eds.), Global Optimization and Constraint Satisfaction, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Vol. 2861, Springer, Berlin, 2003.

36. Sahinidis, N. V., Optimization under uncertainty: State-of-the-art and opportunities, in I. E. Grossmann and C. McDonald (eds.), Proceedings of FOCAPO 2003, CACHE Corporation, Austin, TX, 2003. (invited; reviewed; an earlier version of the paper with the same title that was later submitted and published after invitation to Computers & Chemical Engineering)

37. Tawarmalani, M., S. Ahmed, and N. V. Sahinidis, Product disaggregation and relaxations of mixed-integer rational programs, Optimization and Engineering, 3(3), 281-303, 2002.

38. Tawarmalani, M., S. Ahmed, and N. V. Sahinidis, Global optimization of 0-1 hyperbolic programs, Journal of Global Optimization, 24(4), 385-417, 2002.

39. Furman, K. C. and N. V. Sahinidis, A critical review and annotated bibliography for heat exchanger network synthesis in the 20th century, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 41(10), 2335-2370, 2002.

40. Tawarmalani, M. and N. V. Sahinidis, Convex extensions and envelopes of lower semi-continuous functions, Mathematical Programming, Ser. A, 93(2), 247-263, 2002.

41. Tawarmalani, M. and N. V. Sahinidis, Exact algorithms for global optimization of mixed-integer nonlinear programs, in H. E. Romeijn and P. M. Pardalos (eds.), Handbook of Global Optimization, Vol. 2, pp. 65-85, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, MA, 2002.

42. Tawarmalani, M. and N. V. Sahinidis, Convexification and Global Optimization in Continuous and Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Programming: Theory, Algorithms, Software, and Applications, Vol. 65, Nonconvex Optimization And Its Applications series, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, 2002 (504 pages).

43. Furman, K. C. and N. V. Sahinidis, Computational complexity of heat exchanger network synthesis, Computers & Chemical Engineering, 25(9-10), 1371-1390, 2001.

44. Tawarmalani, M. and N. V. Sahinidis, Semidefinite relaxations of fractional programs via novel convexification techniques, Journal of Global Optimization, 20(2), 137-158, 2001.

45. Ryoo, H. S. and N. V. Sahinidis, Analysis of bounds for multilinear functions, Journal of Global Optimization, 19(4), 403-424, 2001.

46. Ghildyal, V. and N. V. Sahinidis, Solving global optimization problems with BARON, in A. Migdalas, P. Pardalos and P. Varbrand (eds.), From Local to Global Optimization. A Workshop on the Occasion of the 70th Birthday of Professor Hoang Tuy, Chapter 10, pp. 205-230, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, 2001.

47. Sahinidis, N. V. and M. Tawarmalani, Applications of global optimization to process and molecular design, Computers & Chemical Engineering, 24(9-10), 2157-2169, 2000.

48. Ahmed, S. and N. V. Sahinidis, Analytical investigations of the process planning problem, Computers & Chemical Engineering, 23(11-12), 1605-1621, 2000.

49. Ahmed, S., N. V. Sahinidis, and E. N. Pistikopoulos, An improved decomposition algorithm for process planning under uncertainty, Computers & Chemical Engineering, 23(11-12), 1589-1604, 2000.

50. Adhya, N., M. Tawarmalani, and N. V. Sahinidis, A Lagrangian approach to the pooling problem, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 38(5), 1956-1972, 1999.

51. VanAntwerp, J. G., R. D. Braatz, and N. V. Sahinidis, Globally optimal robust control, Journal of Process Control, 9, 375-383, 1999.

52. Ahmed, S. and N. V. Sahinidis, Robust process planning under uncertainty, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 37(5), 1883-1892, 1998.

53. Shectman, J. P. and N. V. Sahinidis, A finite algorithm for global minimization of separable concave programs, Journal of Global Optimization, 12(1), 1-36, 1998.

54. Liu, M. L. and N. V. Sahinidis, Bridging the gap between heuristics and optimization: The capacity expansion case, AIChE Journal, 43(9), 2289-2299, 1997.

55. Vander Wiel, R. J. and N. V. Sahinidis, The assignment problem with external interactions, Networks, 30(3), 171-185, 1997.

56. Liu, M. L. and N. V. Sahinidis, Process planning in a fuzzy environment, European Journal of Operational Research, 100(1), 142-169, 1997.

57. Van Antwerp, J. G., R. D. Braatz, and N. V. Sahinidis, Globally optimal robust control for systems with nonlinear time-varying perturbations, Computers & Chemical Engineering, 21, S125-S130, 1997 (Proceedings of the 1997 European Symposium on Computer Aided Process Engineering).

58. Liu, M. L. and N. V. Sahinidis, Optimization in process planning under uncertainty, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 35(11), 4154-4165, 1996.

59. Vander Wiel, R. J. and N. V. Sahinidis, An exact solution approach for the time-dependent traveling salesman problem, Naval Research Logistics, 43(6), 797-820, 1996

60. Sahinidis, N. V., BARON: A general purpose global optimization software package, Journal of Global Optimization, 8(2), 201-205, 1996.

61. Ryoo, H. S. and N. V. Sahinidis, A branch-and-reduce approach to global optimization, Journal of Global Optimization, 8(2), 107-139, 1996.

62. Gutierrez, R. A. and N. V. Sahinidis, A branch-and-bound approach for machine selection in just-in-time manufacturing systems, International Journal of Production Research, 34(3), 797-818, 1996.

63. Liu, M. L. and N. V. Sahinidis, Long range planning in the process industries: A projection approach, Computers & Operations Research, 23(3), 237-253, 1996.

64. Liu, M. L., N. V. Sahinidis, and J. P. Shectman, Planning of chemical process networks via global concave minimization, Chapter 7, pp. 195-230, in I. E. Grossmann (ed.), Global Optimization in Engineering Design, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, MA, 1996.

65. Shectman, J. P. and N. V. Sahinidis, A finite algorithm for global minimization of separable concave programs, in C. A. Floudas and P. M. Pardalos (eds.), State of the Art in Global Optimization: Computational Methods and Applications, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, MA, pp. 303-340, 1996. (reviewed; an earlier version of the paper with the same title that was subsequently published after significant improvements of the methodology in the Journal of Global Optimization).

66. Dorneich, M. C. and N. V. Sahinidis, Global optimization algorithms for chip layout and compaction, Engineering Optimization, 25(2), 131-154, 1995.

67. Vander Wiel, R. J. and N. V. Sahinidis, Heuristic bounds and test problem generation for the time-dependent traveling salesman problem, Transportation Science, 29(2), 167-183, 1995.

68. Liu, M. L. and N. V. Sahinidis, Computational trends and effects of approximations on MILP model for process planning, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 34(5), 1662-1673, 1995.

69. Ryoo, H. S. and N. V. Sahinidis, Global optimization of nonconvex NLPs and MINLPs with applications in process design, Computers & Chemical Engineering, 19(5), 551-566, 1995.

70. Sahinidis, N. V. and I. E. Grossmann, Reformulation of the multiperiod MILP model for capacity expansion of chemical processes, Operations Research, 40(S1), S127-S144, 1992.

71. Sahinidis, N. V. and I. E. Grossmann, Convergence properties of generalized Benders decomposition, Computers & Chemical Engineering, 15(7), 481-491, 1991.

72. Sahinidis, N. V. and I. E. Grossmann, Reformulation of multiperiod MILP models for planning and scheduling of chemical processes, Computers & Chemical Engineering, 15(4), 255-272, 1991.

73. Sahinidis, N. V. and I. E. Grossmann, MINLP model for cyclic multiproduct scheduling on continuous parallel lines, Computers & Chemical Engineering, 15(2), 85-103, 1991.

74. Sahinidis, N. V. and I. E. Grossmann, Multiperiod investment decision model for processing networks with dedicated and flexible plants, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 30(6), 1165-1171, 1991.

75. Sahinidis, N. V., I. E. Grossmann, R. E. Fornari, and M. Chathrathi, Optimization model for long range planning in the chemical industry, Computers & Chemical Engineering, 13(9), 1049-1063, 1989.

76. Kiparissides, C., E. Sidiropoulou, S. Voutetakis, and N. V. Sahinidis, A comparative study of LQC, DMC and extended STR control strategies, Proceedings of 10th IFAC World Congress on Automatic Control, 1987.

Back to Publications