Scientific projects

Improving Optimization Bounds using Machine Learning (now)

Finding tight bounds on the optimal solution is a critical element of practical solution methods for discrete optimization problems. In the last decade, decision diagrams (DDs) have brought a new perspective on obtaining upper and lower bounds that can be significantly better than classical bounding mechanisms, such as linear relaxations. In this work, we propose an innovative and generic approach based on deep reinforcement learning for obtaining an ordering for tightening the bounds obtained with relaxed and restricted DDs.

This project is done in collaboration with Polytechnique Montréal, ElementAI and Prof. David Bergman from UConn. It is funded by Ivado and Mitacs.

The current implementation of this work is available on Github.

PRESupply (2018)

PRESupply aims to make accessible state-of-the-art optimization solutions in Supply Chain Management to SME’s. It will help them generating a maximum of value from optimized decisions towards their different supply chain challenges.

My contribution in this project is the developpment of an optimization model based on Constraint Programming for helping a non profit organization managing transportations in healthcare. The goal is to bring patients to health centers and to take them back home once the care has been delivered.

This project is done in collaboration with UCLouvain, N-Side, Solidaris Liège and Polytechique Montréal.

OscaR Solver (2017-2018)

OscaR is an open-source Scala toolkit for solving Operations Research problems. The techniques currently available in OscaR are:

• Constraint Programming.
• Constrained Based Local Search.
• Linear (Integer) Programming.
• Discrete Event Simulation.
• Derivative Free Optimization.
• Visualization.

I take part to the development of the data mining package and the implementation of new constraints in the CP Module.

Inograms (2014-2017)

This project is part of my Ph.D Thesis. It has the global purpose to maintain the competiveness of Wallonia’s (a region of Belgium) railway industry in the face of other transportation means such as aircraft and road transport.

More specifically, the aim of this project is to improve railway interlocking systems. In a train station, an interlocking is the system having the responsibility to ensure safe movements of trains and to prevent accidents such collisions or derailments. Analysing how such a system can be improved gives me the opportunity to work on various fields such as verification, simulation, optimisation and data analysis.

This project is done in collaboration with Alstom, Cetic, UMons and INRIA-Rennes.

World Migration Network Analysis (2013-2014)

It is part of my Master's Thesis that I did with Adrien Thonet under the supervision of Prof. Jean-Charles Delvenne. The goal pursued was to design a predicting model for future migrations using historical data. To do so, we used algorithms of graph theory field such as PageRank or Louvain Method. Results obtained showned that using mathematical parameters gives better performance than state of the art methods.

Mission to Mars UCL (2013-2014)

Mission to Mars - UCL is a scientific project led by students of Université catholique de Louvain, which consists in a simulation of the exploration of the planet Mars. In order to reproduce at best the Martian living conditions, they are sent in a station located in Utah Desert in the USA during 2 weeks. The base, Mars Desert Research Station, was built by the Mars Society in order to promote the exploration of Mars. During the simulation mission, the students will carry out different scientific experiments related to the exploration of Mars while experimenting the daily life of an astronaut.

I took part to this project as a member of Crew 136.

Personal projects

Volunteer internship (2014)

During two months, I took part to an internship in Choithram international school of Indore, in India. The aim of my internship was to help the teachers to mentor young students (from 6 to 18 years) and to share with them the culture of my country. It gave me the opportunity to live and to work with people coming from all around the world.

This project was part of an internship organised by AIESEC, a global platform for young people to explore and develop their leadership potential.

Youth movements (2009-2015)

I was also involved in a youth movement where I managed during 6 years a troop of more than 30 Scouts. As a Scout leader, I organised activities such as woodcrafts, camping, hiking, living in the nature, etc.