How Can Problem Structure Analysis from Evolutionary Computation be Applied to Biological Problems?

Presenter: Robert Heckendorn, Department of Computer Science, University of Idaho

Abstract: In Biology, understanding the interaction of genes with other genes and their environment is critical to understanding how organisms function and evolve. In Computer Science, understanding the "structure" of a problem representation is critical to understanding how to effectively solve an optimization problem using evolutionary computation. While these two problems are very similar, there are some severe practical differences in these two fields. In this talk I will discuss my effort to adapt the analysis techniques found Evolutionary Computation to the needs of biologists. I will discuss some specific algorithms under development in collaboration with researchers at BEACON Center for Evolution in Action at Michigan State and give some examples from real biological problems.

BEACON: A NSF Center for the study of Evolution in Action