Retreat of the Schöbel research group in Wolfstein

From October 14 to 16, the Schöbel research group headed to the tranquil town of Wolfstein to exchange ideas, where – in a decidedly unusual experience for students from Kaiserslautern – they could actually catch a glimpse of the river Lauter. Nine talks on participants’ current research led to discussions on robust optimization, mathematical transport planning, quantum computing, and multi-criteria optimization. Furthermore, there were brief recaps of highlights from this year’s conferences, alongside discussions about using AI in research and career prospects in optimization after a PhD. Of course, there was also time for a group hike up the Königsberg, complete with leaps almost worthy of wild boars. Unfortunately, it was also discovered that chestnuts are a very poor approximation of 2-norm balls, a disappointment which was soon forgotten over evening tea in the presence of the tea turtle.