Cultural Diversity

Combinatorial optimization problems arise across logistics, scheduling, and engineering, and C++ remains a language of choice when performance matters. This lecture takes a practical look at solving such problems in C++, using the Electric Vehicle Routing Problem as a running example. We begin with an exact solver, formulating the problem as a mixed-integer program and trying to solve it through GLPK's C API directly from C++. Exact methods, however, quickly hit their limits on real-world instances. The second half of the talk turns to metaheuristics: how they are designed, why C++ is particularly well suited for implementing them, and what design choices matter most in practice. We'll walk through a concrete implementation, touching on data structures for fast neighborhood evaluation, generic algorithm design with templates, and the performance considerations that separate a prototype from a production-ready solver. The goal is not to advocate for one approach over another, but to show how C++ supports the full spectrum of optimization techniques. # About Speaker Luka Matijević is a researcher at the Mathematical Institute of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, whose work bridges academic research and freelance engineering. He's drawn to identifying the right algorithm for a given problem — and to the kind of careful optimization captured by one of his favourite Futurama lines: *"When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all."* ## 📅 Event Details | | | | --- | --- | | 👤 **Speaker** | **[Luka Matijević](https://www.linkedin.com/in/luka-matijevic/)** | | 🕕 **Date & Time** | **27th of May (Wednesday), 6 pm** | | 📍 **Location** | **Beograđanka, Vidikovac, 22nd floor** | | 🏢 **Address** | **Masarikova 5** | | 💻 **Online** | **[C++ Serbia YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@cppserbia)** | See you!

Let's grab some coffee/food and share a morning chat! The East Market has an ample parking lot and outdoor and indoor seating. Grab a cup of coffee from Winston's Coffee & Waffles or on your way to East Market and meet us on the second floor - table behind or east of the elevator. Per what this group is about: "Everyone is welcome! International transplants to Columbus who want to improve language skills, Columbus residents who enjoy talking to people from other countries, and those who would like to discuss international travel and culture, and who enjoy getting together for good conversations."

Let’s meet and wander the galleries! General admission on Sundays is free.

June meetup at the Library. We’ll play games and have casual conversation in Japanese and in English. All levels of Japanese ability, from non-speaker to native, are welcome. After the meetup we will go out to eat at a local restaurant.

ASH is Atheists, Skeptics and Humanists of First Unitarian Universalists of Columbus Ohio TBD Snacks are usually available, and you are welcome to bringing something to share!

Ciao a tutt\*! Let's meet Monday at 6.30pm at the Upper Arlington Library (**Tremont** Branch) in **Meeting Room A** to speak in Italian for 1 hour.

The aim of this group is to get together and practice our German. Doesn’t matter if are a beginner or a native speaker. The goal is to speak and improve our German. Everyone is welcome! If the weather is good, look for us in the Biergarten. Pro Tip: Get there before 6:00 for happy hour pricing.