Evolutionary Optimization

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Overview

Evolutionary optimization studies how populations of candidate solutions can improve through selection, mutation, recombination, and other forms of variation, especially when gradients are unavailable or objectives are expensive. Common approaches include genetic algorithms, differential evolution, CMA-ES and evolution strategies, as well as multi-objective methods that preserve trade-offs and diversity. Researchers apply them to engineering design, robotics, scheduling, scientific discovery, and increasingly to evolving code, prompts, and language-model behavior; newer methods add learned surrogates, adaptive resource allocation, and large-language-model-generated operators. A central challenge is balancing exploration, solution quality, and evaluation cost, while ensuring improvements generalize beyond the benchmarks and search budgets used to find them.

Latest papers

CardsList

295 papers33 papers in the last four weeks, up 50% on the four weeks before. 0.2% of all new papers.

  1. Evolutionary Search for Automated Design of Uncertainty Quantification Methods

    Apr 3, 2026Mikhail Seleznyov, Daniil Korbut, Viktor Moskvoretskii +3Uncertainty QuantificationLLM Uncertainty Estimation

    AIRI · Skoltech · Amazon +2

  2. Accelerating Black-Box Bilevel Optimization with Rank-Based Upper-Level Value Function Approximation

    Apr 3, 2026Marc Ong, Youhei AkimotoBilevel OptimizationBlack-Box Optimization

    University of Tsukuba Tsukuba, Ibaraki, JAPAN · University of Tsukuba & RIKEN AIP Tsukuba, Ibaraki, JAPAN

  3. CliffSearch: Structured Agentic Co-Evolution over Theory and Code for Scientific Algorithm Discovery

    Apr 1, 2026Youssef Mroueh, Carlos Fonseca, Brian Belgodere +1LLMs for Evolutionary OptimizationAutomated Algorithm Discovery

    IBM Research

  4. Cooperative Coevolution versus Monolithic Evolutionary Search for Semi-Supervised Tabular Classification

    Apr 1, 2026Jamal ToutouhSemi-Supervised LearningTabular ML

    ITIS, Universidad de Málaga Spain

  5. Associative Constructive Evolution: Enhancing Metaheuristics through Hebbian-Learned Generative Guidance

    Mar 31, 2026Shanxian Lin, Yuichi Nagata, Haichuan YangMolecule DesignMetaheuristic Optimization

    Graduate School of Technology, Industrial and Social Sciences, Tokushima University, Tokushima, Japan

  6. Evolutionary Discovery of Reinforcement Learning Algorithms via Large Language Models

    Mar 30, 2026Alkis Sygkounas, Amy Loutfi, Andreas PerssonAutomated Algorithm DiscoveryEvolutionary RL

    Machine Perception and Interaction Lab, Örebro University, Sweden

  7. Evolutionary Algorithms for Generating Graphs Matching Desired Laplacian Spectra

    Mar 30, 2026Hendrik Richter, Frank NeumannGraph GenerationEvolutionary Optimization

    HTWK Leipzig University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Engineering, D–04251 Leipzig, Germany · Optimisation and Logistics, Adelaide University, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia

  8. A Learning-Based Cooperative Coevolution Framework for Heterogeneous Large-Scale Global Optimization

    Mar 30, 2026Wenjie Qiu, Zixin Wang, Hongyu Fang +2Global OptimizationEvolutionary Optimization

    South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

  9. AutoMS: Multi-Agent Evolutionary Search for Cross-Physics Inverse Microstructure Design

    Mar 28, 2026Zhenyuan Zhao, Yu Xing, Tianyang Xue +3Inverse DesignLarge Language Model-Guided Optimization

    Shandong University, Qingdao, China · The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

  10. RDEx-MOP: Indicator-Guided Reconstructed Differential Evolution for Fixed-Budget Multiobjective Optimization

    Mar 28, 2026Sichen Tao, Yifei Yang, Ruihan Zhao +3Multi-Objective Evolutionary OptimizationEvolutionary Optimization

    Department of Engineering, University of Toyama, Toyama-shi 930-8555, Japan · Cyberscience Center, Tohoku University, Sendai-shi 980-8578, Japan · Faculty of Science and Technology, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki-shi 036-8560, Japan +5

  11. SwarmCoDe: A Scalable Co-Design Framework for Heterogeneous Robot Swarms via Dynamic Speciation

    Mar 27, 2026Andrew Wilhelm, Josie HughesSwarm RoboticsEvolutionary Robotics

    Department of Mechanical Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

  12. EvoForest: A Novel Machine-Learning Paradigm via Open-Ended Evolution of Computational Graphs

    Mar 26, 2026Kamer Ali Yuksel, Hassan SawafNeuro-Symbolic AINeuroevolution

    aiXplain, Inc., San Jose, CA, USA

  13. AVO: Agentic Variation Operators for Autonomous Evolutionary Search

    Mar 25, 2026Terry Chen, Zhifan Ye, Bing Xu +20Evolutionary OptimizationGPU Kernel Optimization

    NVIDIA

  14. A Longitudinal Analysis of the CEC Single-Objective Competitions (2010-2024) and Implications for Variational Quantum Optimization

    Mar 25, 2026Vojtěch Novák, Tomáš Bezděk, Ivan Zelinka +2Evolutionary OptimizationDifferential Evolution

    Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, VSB - Technical University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic · IT4Innovations National Supercomputing Center, VSB - Technical University of Ostrava, 708 00 Ostrava, Czech Republic · Department of Informatics and Statistics, Marine Research Institute, Klaipeda University, Lithuania +3

  15. Elite Lanes: Evolutionary Generation of Realistic Small-Scale Road Networks

    Mar 21, 2026Artur Morys-Magiera, Marek Długosz, Paweł SkruchGraph GenerationSynthetic Data Generation for Robotics

    AGH University of Krakow, Poland

  16. Decoupling Numerical and Structural Parameters: An Empirical Study on Adaptive Genetic Algorithms via Deep Reinforcement Learning for the Large-Scale TSP

    Mar 21, 2026Hongyu Wang, Yuhan Jing, Yibing Shi +3Evolutionary OptimizationGenetic Algorithms

    School of Mathematics and Statistics, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China · School of Mechanical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China · Frontier Institute of Science and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China

  17. FormalEvolve: Neuro-Symbolic Evolutionary Search for Diverse Autoformalization

    Mar 20, 2026Haijian Lu, Wei Wang, Jing LiuAutoformalizationInference-Time Search

    School of Artificial Intelligence, Xidian University, Xi’an, China · Beijing Institute for General Artificial Intelligence, Beijing, China

  18. Helix: A Dual-Helix Co-Evolutionary Multi-Agent System for Prompt Optimization and Question Reformulation

    Mar 20, 2026Kewen Zhu, Liping Yi, Zhiming Zhao +2Automatic Prompt OptimizationQuery Reformulation

    College of Intelligence and Computing, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China

  19. POET: Power-Oriented Evolutionary Tuning for LLM-Based RTL PPA Optimization

    Mar 19, 2026Heng Ping, Peiyu Zhang, Zhenkun Wang +5Large Language Model-Guided OptimizationEvolutionary Optimization

    University of Southern California, United States

  20. INSTRUMENTAL: Automatic Synthesizer Parameter Recovery from Audio via Evolutionary Optimization

    Mar 16, 2026Philipp BogdanParameter EstimationEvolutionary Optimization

  21. Data Darwinism Part II: DataEvolve -- AI can Autonomously Evolve Pretraining Data Curation

    Mar 15, 2026Tiantian Mi, Dongming Shan, Zhen Huang +6Training Data CurationLanguage Model Pretraining

    SII · FDU · GAIR +2

  22. KernelFoundry: Hardware-aware evolutionary GPU kernel optimization

    Mar 12, 2026Nina Wiedemann, Quentin Leboutet, Michael Paulitsch +2GPU Kernel OptimizationGPU Acceleration

    Intel Corporation

  23. Advancing Automated Algorithm Design via Evolutionary Stagewise Design with LLMs

    Mar 9, 2026Chen Lu, Ke Xue, Chengrui Gao +5Automated Algorithm DiscoveryAutomated Heuristic Design

    National Key Laboratory for Novel Software Technology, Nanjing University, China · School of Artificial Intelligence, Nanjing University, China · Huawei Noah’s Ark Lab, China

  24. A Primer on Evolutionary Optimization Frameworks for Near-Field Multi-Source Localization

    Mar 8, 2026Seyed Jalaleddin Mousavirad, Parisa Ramezani, Mattias O'Nils +1Wireless LocalizationDirection-of-Arrival Estimation

    Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering, Mid Sweden University, Sundsvall, Sweden · the school of electrical and data engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia · the Department of Computer Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden

  25. CDEoH: Category-Driven Automatic Algorithm Design With Large Language Models

    Mar 8, 2026Yu-Nian Wang, Shen-Huan Lyu, Ning Chen +3Automated Heuristic DesignAutomated Algorithm Discovery

    Key Laboratory of Water Big Data Technology of Ministry of Water Resources, College of Computer Science and Software Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, China · Department of Computer Science, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China · State Key Laboratory for Novel Software Technology, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China

  26. Large Language Model-Driven Full-Component Evolution of Adaptive Large Neighborhood Search

    Mar 7, 2026Shaohua Yu, Tianyu Chen, Linyan Liu +1Automated Heuristic DesignLarge Neighborhood Search

    School of Intelligent Science and Technology, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China · School of Mechanical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China · Université Paris-Saclay, CentraleSupélec, Laboratoire Génie Industriel, 91190, Gif-sur-Yvette, France +1

  27. EvoTool: Self-Evolving Tool-Use Policy Optimization in LLM Agents via Blame-Aware Mutation and Diversity-Aware Selection

    Mar 5, 2026Shuo Yang, Soyeon Caren Han, Xueqi Ma +3Policy OptimizationLLM Agent Self-Improvement

    School of Computing and Information Systems, The University of Melbourne

  28. ReVEL: Multi-Turn Reflective LLM-Guided Heuristic Evolution via Structured Performance Feedback

    Mar 5, 2026Cuong Van Duc, Minh Nguyen Dinh Tuan, Tam Vu Duc +4Automated Heuristic DesignLarge Language Model-Guided Optimization

    VinMotion · Hanoi University of Science and Technology · VinUniversity +2

  29. Empirical Evaluation of No Free Lunch Violations in Permutation-Based Optimization

    Mar 4, 2026Grzegorz SrokaBlack-Box OptimizationBenchmark Design

    Department of Nonlinear Analysis, Rzeszów University of Technology, Powstańców Warszawy 12, 35-959 Rzeszów, Poland

  30. All Mutation Rates c/nc/n for the (1+1)(1+1) Evolutionary Algorithm

    Feb 27, 2026Andrew James KelleyEvolutionary OptimizationRuntime Analysis of Evolutionary Algorithms