Dr. Enrique Alba is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Málaga, Spain. He got his Ph.D. degree on designing and analyzing parallel and distributed genetic algorithms. His current research interests involve the design and application of metaheuristics and bio-inspired systems to real problems in smart cities, telecommunications, combinatorial optimization, software engineering, and bioinformatics.
The main focus of all his work is on parallelism, having long experience in cluster computing, grid/cloud algorithms, P2P techniques, multi/many-core systems, GPU developments, Myrinet/Gigabit Ethernet analysis and WiFi ad-hoc networks in MANET and VANET (vehicular networks).
Part of his ongoing research lies in the fields of discrete and continuous optimization, ad-hoc metropolitan network optimization, smart mobility, optimal design of GSM networks, logistics, vehicle routing, DNA fragment assembly, gene microarrays, software testing and validation, and in general hard problems lying in the base of real world problems.
New fields like multiobjective techniques, grid/P2P/Internet platforms, dynamic optimization of problems whose definition change in time, self-adaptive efficient techniques, and heterogeneous algorithms are dealt with as part both of basic and applied research.
As to the techniques, Prof. Alba and his group are dealing mainly with metaheuristics, either bio- inspired or not, and also hybridization with other (maybe exact) methods. In concrete, evolutionary algorithms, particle swarm, ant colonies, simulated annealing, variable neighborhood search, branch and bound, and related solvers are used. Theory and methodology is stressed in all developments.
Prof. Alba has published 12 monographs on complex problem solving, 68 papers in ISI indexed journals, and more than 250 conference papers. He has coordinated several national and international research projects in the past. Some of these projects are TRACER, OPLINK, M*, roadME, INRIA PERFOM and MOID, European projects like CARLINK or COADVISE, and Excellence Projects in Andalucía like DIRICOM. Prof. Alba holds active collaborations (join publications, visits, and exchanges) with more than 20 international universities and labs, and his research in Málaga is also provoking industrial transferences to several companies like OPTIMI, ARELANCE, NOVASOFT, ACERINOX, VTT, ETRA, etc. Collaboration in two software packages that are in exploitation by OPTIMI (now Ericsson) protected under intellectual policy (x-AFP ad x-ACP).
All PhD theses directed by Prof. Alba in Málaga have the European mention of quality. He has supervised dozens final degree theses, 15 master theses, 10 PhD theses, and currently works in co-direction to more than 14 running new theses around the world. This evidences a large vocation to human training in research, with demonstrable results in terms of highly cited publications (H index 36), more than 6000 cites, and more than 45 international seminars and plenary talks.
Finally, Prof. Alba works in the program committee of well-known important conferences in several fields, like ACM GECCO, IEEE CEC, PPSN, EvoCOP, IPDPS and many more, as well has he organizes international events like NIDISC, IEEE/ACM MSWiM and the next GECCO 2013 (as general chair in this top conference in the field). He also works as reviewer for IEEE Transactions (on EC, PDS, Education, SMC), JPDC, PARCO, Journal of Heuristics, JMMA, EJOR, Computer Communications, etc. Besides, Prof. Alba works in the editorial board of several international journals related to optimization, telecommunications, and parallel systems.