Stochastic modeling and optimization (in honor of András Prékopa’s 80th birthday)

Abstract

The area of optimization of stochastic models has been experiencing rapid development in the last several decades. Experts in probability and statistics, optimization theory, simulation, and stochastic control have collaborated to create new models, new analytical techniques, and new numerical methods, with an associated multitude of applications. Andras Prekopa is one of the founders of this area, but he is also an active contributor and organizer. His remarkable scientific career, spanning over six decades, is impossible to summarize here. He has published more than 15 books and 350 scientific papers. His 1995 book Stochastic Programming is a comprehensive treatise on the area, and became a standard reference. An overview of his scientific contributions is provided in the special article following this introduction. Professor Prekopa supervised more than 50 doctoral students and is currently directing a doctoral program at Rutgers University. He is a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, a foreign member of the National Academy of Engineering of Mexico, a fellow of the Econometric Society, a member of the International Statistical Institute, and the honorary president of the Janos Bolyai Mathematical Society and the Hungarian Operations Research Society. He is the founder of the sequence of international conferences on stochastic programming (held every three years since the 1981 meeting in Kőszeg, Hungary) and of