François Glineur

Research interests

Mathematical optimization design and analysis of algorithms computer-aided performance estimation

Optimization applications in engineering in energy

Nonnegative matrix factorization algorithms and complexity applications in data analysis

Recent talks

• Performance estimation of second-order optimization methods on classes of univariate functions, given at EUROPT 2025 in Southampton (June 2025): see the slides and the paper
• Exact convergence rates of the last iterate in subgradient methods, given at EUROPT 2024 in Lund (June 2024) and at ALGOPT2024 (August 2024): see the slides and the paper
• Performance estimation of optimization methods: a guided tour, given at NOPTA 2024 in Antwerp (April 2024): see the slides

Publications

An up to date list of publications can be found on Google Scholar or on the UCLouvain institutional repository. Recent preprints can be found on arXiv. Recent publications (from 2023, loaded dynamically from DIAL):

Courses currently taught

• LEPL1102 Analyse I (in French). Link to the course description and the course home page.
• LINFO1111 Analyse (in French). Link to the course description and the course home page.
• LEPL1105 Analyse II (in French). Link to the course description and the course home page.
• LINMA1702 Modèles et méthodes d'optimisation I (in French). Link to the course description and the course home page.
• LINMA2471 Optimization models and methods II. Link to the course description and the course home page.
• LINMA2120 Applied mathematics seminar. Link to the course description and the course home page.

Miscellaneous

Link to my previous web page which contains links to some course materials and slides for some old talks ...

Research group

PhD students

• Pierre Vernimmen (2024-, UCLouvain FSR).
• Sofiane Tanji (2021-2026, TraDE-OPT H2020 ITN + UCLouvain FSR).
• Philémon Beghin (2021-), UCLouvain teaching assistant, co-supervised with Anne-Emmanuelle Ceulemans.

Completed PhDs

• Teodor Rotaru (2021-2026, Global PhD Partnership KU Leuven-UCLouvain, co-supervised with Panagiotis Patrinos), profile.
  PhD thesis Exact Performance Analysis of Fundamental First-Order Optimization Methods, link, LIRIAS link.
• Nizar Bousselmi (2021-2025, FRIA grant, co-supervised with Julien Hendrickx), profile.
  PhD thesis Performance analysis of primal-dual and second-order optimization methods, link.
• Yassine Kamri (2021-2025, TraDE-OPT H2020 ITN + UCLouvain FSR, co-supervised with Julien Hendrickx).
  PhD thesis Contributions to Performance Estimation Problems for the Analysis and Design of First-Order Optimization Methods, link.
• Guillaume Van Dessel (2019-2025, UCLouvain teaching assistant), profile.
  PhD thesis Efficient methods for structured nonconvex optimization and optimization under inexact oracles, link.
• Cécile Hautecoeur (2018-2022, SeLMA EOS project), profile.
  PhD thesis Nonnegative Matrix Factorization using Parametrizable Functions, link.
• Valentin Hamaide (2018-2022, BidMed project, BioWin cluster région wallonne, co-supervised in part with Benoît Macq), profile.
  PhD thesis Data-driven learning and optimization approaches for proton therapy, link.
• Julien Dewez (2013-2021, DYSCO IAP grant and UCLouvain teaching assistant), profile.
  PhD thesis Computational Approaches for Lower Bounds on the Nonnegative Rank, link.
• Benoît Martin (2013-2018, FRIA grant, co-supervised with Emmanuel De Jaeger), profile.
  PhD thesis Autonomous microgrids for rural electrification: joint investment planning of power generation and distribution through convex optimization, link.
• Adrien Taylor (2012-2017, FRIA grant, co-supervised with Julien Hendrickx), profile, now research scientist at INRIA, see his home page.
  PhD thesis Convex Interpolation and Performance Estimation of First-order Methods for Convex Optimization, ICTEAM thesis award 2018, IBM Innovation award 2018, Mathematical Optimization society Tucker prize finalist, link.
• Arnaud Latiers (2012-2016, Doctiris grant, co-supervised with Emmanuel De Jaeger), profile.
  PhD thesis Autonomous Frequency Containment Reserves from Energy Constrained Loads: A system perspective, SRBE-KVBE Robert SINAVE thesis award 2016, link.
• Olivier Devolder (2009-2013, FNRS grant, co-supervised with Yurii Nesterov), profile.
  PhD thesis Exactness, Inexactness and Stochasticity in First-Order Methods for Large-Scale Convex Optimization, ICTEAM thesis award 2014, link.
• Jonathan Denies (2008-2013, FSR+FRIA grant, co-supervised with Bruno Dehez and Hamid Ben Ahmed), profile.
  PhD thesis Métaheuristiques pour l'optimisation topologique : application à la conception de dispositifs électromagnétiques, link.
• Nicolas Gillis (2007-2011, FNRS grant), profile, now professor at Université de Mons, see his home page.
  PhD thesis Nonnegative Matrix Factorization, Complexity, Algorithms, Applications, ICTEAM thesis award 2012, Householder Award XV (2011-2013), link.
• Robert Chares (2005-2009, FSR+FRIA grant), profile.
  PhD thesis Cones and Interior-Point Algorithms for Structured Convex Optimization involving Powers and Exponentials, link.

(link to PDF files for all PhD theses)

Research group in 2021 (picture with P.-A. Absil's group -- from left to right: Teodor, Yassine, Hazan, Nizar, Pierre-Antoine, Guillaume O, François, Cécile, Simon, Philémon, Valentin, Guillaume VD, Loïc)

Postdoctoral collaborators and long-term visitors

• Visiting PhD student Zhicheng Deng (ShanghaiTech University) (2023-2024), China Scholarship Council.
• Moslem Zamani (2023-2024, SeLMA EOS project), working on Performance estimation of first-order optimization methods.
• Yu Guan (2018-2020, SeLMA EOS project), working on Graph regularized tensor completion.
• Sebastian Stich (2014-2016, ARC Big Data and SNF grants), working on Large-scale optimization.
• Augustin Lefèvre (2012-2013, IAP Dysco), working on Informed source separation.
• Nicolas Gillis (2012-2013, FNRS grant), working on Constrained low-rank matrix and tensor approximations: complexity, algorithms, and applications.
• Paschalis Tsiaflakis (2011), Francqui intercommunity grant), worked on Optimization in Wireless MIMO Relay Networks.

Master students

The list below is no longer maintained ; please visit the UCLouvain repository for master theses for an accurate list of master theses from 2017.

Click here to display students before 2017.
• Cédric Druck, Positionnement GPS précis et moindre carrés en nombres entiers (2005)
• Gilles Mouzon, Optimisation topologique de structures en treillis (2005)
• Vincent Onclinx, Classification of Web pages based on the Hyperlink structure of the Web (2005)
• Benoît Roland, Classification par ellipsoïdes: Comparaison des performances (2005)
• Pierre-Yves Barriat, Bases de données de fin de parties d'un jeu d’échecs simplifié (2005)
• Thibaut Debroux, Optimisation d'une aube de turbomachine à l'aide de méthodes de recherche directe (2006)
• Geoffrey Courtois, Vérification numérique d'inégalités polynomiales (2007)
• Arnaud Debrulle, Optimisation d'une aube de turbomachine : Algorithme de Nelder-Mead et pénalisation de contraintes (2007)
• Nicolas Gillis, Approximation et sous-approximation de matrices par factorisation positive : algorithmes, complexité et applications (2007)
• Chia-Tche Chang, Polynômes et sommes de carrés (2007)
• Nicolas De Vos, Affectation optimale des prestations des conducteurs de train aux dépôts (à l'exemple de certaines lignes du réseau ferroviaire belge) (2007) (with Nicolas Van Muylder)
• Jade Deltour, Optimisation de l'élaboration du planning des conducteurs de la SNCB (2008)
• Gilles Maes, Modélisation et optimisation d'un procédé de production de vapeur (2008)
• Quentin De Hoe, Optimisation de l'affectation de prestations de conducteurs de trains à des dépôts (2008)
• Quentin De Liedekerke, Planification des achats pour l'exploitation forestière (2008)
• Olivier Devolder, Approximation polynomiale pour problèmes d'optimisation en dimension infinie dans les espaces de Lebesgue (2009) (with Y. Nesterov)
• Moritz Schmitz, Algorithmes pour l'élaboration d'horaires de cours et application au baccalauréat de l'EPL (2009)
• Julien Antunes Mendes, Approches primale et duale pour la conception optimale de réseaux de transport en commun (2010) (with Y. Nesterov)
• Raphaël Gehrenbeck, Planification optimale de matériels ferroviaires roulants (2010)
• Nicolas Vandamme, Six stratégies pour gérer la variabilité de l'énergie éolienne : modélisation et optimisation (2010) (with Y. Smeers)
• Thibaud de Crombrugghe de Picquendaele, Optimization of the pairing and the power allocation in an OFDM system with multiple relays (2011) (with J. Louveaux, L. Vandendorpe)
• Arnaud Vandaele, Factorisation non-négative de matrices (2011) (with N. Gillis)
• Adrien Taylor, Expected Improvement criteria for multi-objective optimization (2011) (with M. Diehl (for dual master))
• Kevin Vanderspikken, Méthodes pour la localisation des racines réelles de polynômes creux (2011) (with Y. Nesterov)
• Michael Huppertz, Stratégie optimale pour un jeu d'échecs simplifié (2011)
• Thibault Clavier, SKA telescope optimization (2012) (with C. Craeye)
• Rémy Fabry, Prédiction d'admissions en milieux hospitaliers sur base de données historiques (2012)
• Maxime Kestemont, Optimisation discrète de matériaux composites (2012) (with S. Zein)
• Cyrille Lefèvre and Sophie Marquet, Optimization of patient transport dispatching in hospitals (2012) (with Y. Deville, G. Avoine)
• Julien Dewez, Nonnegative Matrix Factorization and Extension Complexity of Polytopes (2013) (with N. Gillis)
• Salomé Mulders, Train scheduling and resource management in a railway station (2014) (with P. Schaus)
• Yu-Lan Scholliers, Train scheduling and resource management in a railway station (2014) (with P. Schaus)
• Benoît Goethals, Implementation of a Semi-infinite Optimisation Algorithm with toolbox Chebfun of Matlab (2014)
• Christophe Del Marmol, Analysis of lower bounds on the nonnegative rank (2014)
• François Raucent, Long term scheduling of steel grades for the continuous caster (2016) (with B. Boone (ArcelorMittalGent))
• Pasquale Esposito, A numerical approach for solving the problem of the body of least resistance (2015) (with M. Gaudioso)

• Diego Eloi, Worst-case functions for the gradient method with fixed variable step sizes (2022)
• Augustin d'Oultremont, A parser for auto-formalization in education (2022)
• Félix de Patoul, Predictive maintenance: predict upcoming failures via machine learning (2022) (with V. Hamaide)
• Tomasz Kwasniewicz, Implementation of a semidefinite optimization solver in the Julia programming language (2021)
• Nizar Bousselmi, Newton's problem : A smooth minimum method (2021)
• Marie Hartman and Alexia De Poorter, Automated estimation of performance of optimization methods (2021) (with J. Hendrickx)
• Andres Zarza Davila, Proof of concept of an interactive theorem prover system using natural language input (2021)
• Philémon Beghin, A digital tool at the service of organology : validation of a photogrammetric approach (2021) (with P. Fisette, A.-E. Ceulemans)
• Fabio Mercurio, Neural networks and gradient boosting for predictive maintenance of a proton therapy machine (2020) (with V. Hamaide)
• Olivier De Boeck, Convex optimization with inexact second-order oracles (2020)
• Jonas Dubois, Block term tensor decomposition by numerical optimization (2019) (with G. Olikier)
• Antoine Daccache, Performance estimation of the gradient method with fixed arbitrary step sizes (2019)
• Renaud Lothaire, Characterization of violins : a digital tool at the service of organology (2019) (with P. Fisette, A.-E. Ceulemans)
• Guillaume Van Dessel, Stochastic gradient based methods for large-scale optimization: review, unification and new approaches (2019) (with S. Stich)
• Brieuc Pinon, Learning through Optimization Programs (2019)
• Thibault Etienne, Beamforming of large antenna arrays with nulling using Lp-norms for sidelobe minimization (2018) (with C. Craeye)
• Jos Zigabe, Automatic scheduling for EPL lab sessions (2018) (with C. Poncin)
• Loïc Van Hoorebeeck, Calibration of the SKA-low antenna array using drones (2018) (with C. Craeye)
• Simon-Pierre Cordonnier, Identification of the optimal glass type for building (2018) (with T. Timmermans (AGC))
• Virginie Mathy, Industrial Process Optimization: Towards Energy Cost Minimization (2018) (with A. Latiers)
• Adrien Brogniet and Charles Ninane, Construction of an Automated Examination Timetabling System for École Polytechnique de Louvain (2017)
• Dylan Meynaert, Performance Estimation of First-Order Methods (2017)
• Valentin Hamaide, Optimal interference nulling for large arrays of coupled antennas (2017) (with C. Craeye)
• Ludovic Fastré, Automatic scheduling for master thesis defenses (2017) (with P. Schaus)
• Sébastien Lagae, New efficient techniques to solve sparse structured linear systems, with applications to truss topology optimization (2017) (with Y. Nesterov)
• Nicolas Boutet, Developing a symmetrical version of the quasi-newton least square algorithm (2017) (with R. Haelterman (ERM))