Algorithms and Experiments (ALEX98)
Building bridges between theory and applications
Trento, Italy, February 9 - 11, 1998

Preliminary Call for Papers

Please read the final detailed instructions (strict deadline NOVEMBER 10, 1997)

Scope of the workshop. The workshop aims at providing a discussion forum for researchers and practitioners interested in the design, analysis and experimental testing of exact and heuristic algorithms. In particular, the workshop will address methodological issues and significant case studies in the area of experimental analysis and tuning of algorithms, a subject whose importance is being recognized by a growing number of researchers in the CS community, both to assess the relevance or limitations of theoretical models and to create bridges toward applications in different domains. The scientific program will include the presentation of invited talks and contributed original research papers. We are interested in general experimentation methods, new algorithms developed through focussed experiments, theoretical results motivated by experimental studies. More practical issues like standards of software development/documentation aimed at scientific research, procedures for testing algorithms via the web, and significant applications will also be considered.

Workshop venue. The workshop will take place at the Department of Mathematics, University of Trento, Italy. Trento is a pleasant town of Roman origin located in the northern part of Italy. The town is surrounded by mountains (the southern part of the Alps and the Dolomites) and lakes. Popular skiing resorts are located in the neighborhood and an excursion, with ski ``session'' and visit to local bars, will be organized as an active pause in the workshop.

Abstract submissions. The deadline for receiving submissions is NOVEMBER 10, 1997 . Authors should send an extended abstract in PostScript by email. A single-page summary should contain the title of the paper, each author's name, affiliation, electronic address of the corresponding author, and a brief description of the results. The following exposition should contain a clear description of the new results, including motivations and a clear comparison with related work. The length should not exceed eight pages , with 11pt font and appropriate spacing and margins. Electronic submissions are strongly encouraged to speed up the refereeing process. Paper submissions are nonetheless possible in the case of technical problems.

Decisions on acceptance will be sent by email on December 20, 1997 .

Publication. A final (and possibly extended) copy of each accepted paper is required after the workshop (March 10, 1998). The final copies will be considered for publication in a special issue of Discrete Applied Mathematics dedicated to the workshop (edited by R. Battiti, A. Bertossi, and S. Martello) and will therefore undergo the standard rigorous refereeing process. There is the possibility to submit a paper accompanied by the software . Papers will in this case appear in the new section of ``Mathematical Software'' recently introduced by DAM. Making available good quality software is an important investment that facilitates the dissemination of algorithms and the fast reproducibility of results and the authors are strongly encouraged to profit from this opportunity. An electronic distribution of software and papers is also being established by DAM.

Invited Speakers. A number of invited keynote talks about the topics of the workshop will be given, the detailed program will be available later.

Registration and Local Arrangements. The registration fees for the workshop are: LIT 200,000 for early registration (before December 31, 1997), LIT 300,000 for late registration (1 USD =~ 1,600 LIT). Payment details and a registration form will be available through WWW. A list of selected hotels located near the workshop venue will be given at the workshop URL. Please make your reservation on your own and make sure to mention ``ALEX98'' when booking in order to get the workshop's rates.