MOO Camp 2026: Doctoral Researchers Model Real-World Optimization Problems

From August 17 to 21, 2026, doctoral researchers from the Research Training Group MIMO met in Neustadt an der Weinstraße for the first "Multiobjective Optimization Modelling Camp" (MOO Camp).

The camp was organized by the interdisciplinary DFG Research Training Group MIMO ("Mathematics of Interdisciplinary Multiobjective Optimization") under the direction of Prof. Dr. Stefan Ruzika. Over five days, participants worked in groups of three to four on three realistic modeling tasks developed in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics (ITWM) and based on real industrial problems: sawing pattern planning in a sawmill, pallet loading in retail, and the planning of a resilient municipal water supply. No ready-made model structure was provided. Instead, each group had to identify genuinely conflicting objective criteria on its own, develop a mathematical multi-objective optimization model, research the necessary data, and implement a solution approach. On Friday, the groups presented their models and results in final presentations and discussed the models and solution strategies they had developed.

A distinctive feature of the camp was the deliberate use of AI tools as modeling assistants: AI tools were permitted and encouraged, but every modeling-relevant decision had to be explained and justified by the group itself. In addition, the models developed by the groups were compared with the results of an autonomously operating "agentic AI researcher" that had worked on the same problems independently — a comparison that sparked lively discussion during the feedback session.

Conceptually, the MOO Camp continues the Kaiserslautern tradition of industry-oriented applied mathematics. Alongside the technical work, the program also included a trip to Hambach Castle. The organizers are currently evaluating the experience and plan to document the format as a case study for other interested parties in a report.