{"79051":{"#nid":"79051","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Bill Cook Releases New Book In Pursuit of the Traveling Salesman: Mathematics at the Limits of Computation","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003C\/em\u003EAfter much anticipation, William J. \u201cBill\u201d Cook, Chandler\nFamily Chair and professor in the Stewart School of Industrial and Systems\nEngineering, has released his new book \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/press.princeton.edu\/titles\/9531.html\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EIn Pursuit of the Traveling Salesman: Mathematics at the Limits of\nComputation\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cem\u003E \u003C\/em\u003ECook, also an adjunct\nprofessor in the School of Mathematics, is the author or editor of seven books,\nincluding \u003Cem\u003EThe Traveling Salesman Problem:\nA Computational Study\u003C\/em\u003E which was released in 2006.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn his newest book, Cook examines the origins and history of\nthe traveling salesman problem, one of the great unsolved problems in\ncomputational mathematics, and explores its many important applications.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EBook summary from Princeton University Press:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWhat is the shortest possible route\nfor a traveling salesman seeking to visit each city on a list exactly once and\nreturn to his city of origin? It sounds simple enough, yet the traveling\nsalesman problem is one of the most intensely studied puzzles in applied\nmathematics--and it has defied solution to this day. In this book, William Cook\ntakes readers on a mathematical excursion, picking up the salesman\u0027s trail in\nthe 1800s when Irish mathematician W. R. Hamilton first defined the problem,\nand venturing to the furthest limits of today\u0027s state-of-the-art attempts to\nsolve it.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ECook examines the origins and\nhistory of the salesman problem and explores its many important applications,\nfrom genome sequencing and designing computer processors to arranging music and\nhunting for planets. He looks at how computers stack up against the traveling\nsalesman problem on a grand scale, and discusses how humans, unaided by computers,\ngo about trying to solve the puzzle. Cook traces the salesman problem to the\nrealms of neuroscience, psychology, and art, and he also challenges readers to\ntackle the problem themselves. The traveling salesman problem is--literally--a\n$1 million question. That\u0027s the prize the Clay Mathematics Institute is\noffering to anyone who can solve the problem or prove that it can\u0027t be done.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EIn\nPursuit of the Traveling Salesman\u003C\/em\u003E travels to the very threshold of our\nunderstanding about the nature of complexity, and challenges you yourself to\ndiscover the solution to this captivating mathematical problem.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ETo coincide with the release of his latest book, Cook recently\nwrote an article for \u003Cem\u003EThe New York Times\u003C\/em\u003E\ntitled \u201c\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com\/2011\/12\/21\/the-problem-of-the-traveling-politician\/\u0022\u003EThe\nProblem of the Traveling Politician\u003C\/a\u003E,\u201d using the traveling salesman problem to\nsuggest optimal travel routes that will save time and gasoline for politicians\nwho are preparing to hit the campaign trail. \u0026nbsp;His book once again appeared in \u003Cem\u003EThe\u003C\/em\u003E \u003Cem\u003ENew\nYork Times\u003C\/em\u003E\u2019 blog \u201c\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/wordplay.blogs.nytimes.com\/2012\/01\/16\/open-science-numberplay-style\/\u0022\u003EWordplay\u003C\/a\u003E,\u201d\nwhere writer Pradeep Mutalik references Cook\u2019s work on the traveling salesman\nproblem and related problems that cannot be solved in reasonable time by the\nworld\u2019s fastest computers. Additionally, Kyle Munson, an Iowa columnist for the\n\u003Cem\u003EDes Moines Register\u003C\/em\u003E, revealed his\nplans to follow Cook\u2019s suggested campaign routes in a blog titled \u201c\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/blogs.desmoinesregister.com\/dmr\/index.php\/2012\/01\/08\/99-counties-1-week-1-iowa-columnist\/\u0022\u003E99\ncounties, 1 week, 1 Iowa columnist\u003C\/a\u003E.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBill Cook, Chandler\nFamily Chair and professor in ISyE, has released his new book \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/press.princeton.edu\/titles\/9531.html\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EIn Pursuit of the Traveling Salesman: Mathematics at the Limits of\nComputation\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27511","created_gmt":"2012-01-18 09:21:14","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:10:57","author":"Ashley Daniel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-01-18T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2012-01-18T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"79061":{"id":"79061","type":"image","title":"Bill Cook Releases New Book on the Traveling Salesman Problem","body":null,"created":"1449178063","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:27:43","changed":"1475894693","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:53","alt":"Bill Cook Releases New Book on the Traveling Salesman Problem","file":{"fid":"193881","name":"bill_cook_book_release.gif","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bill_cook_book_release_0.gif","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bill_cook_book_release_0.gif","mime":"image\/gif","size":56648,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/bill_cook_book_release_0.gif?itok=RFHYSLUN"}}},"media_ids":["79061"],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"11342","name":"Bill Cook"},{"id":"109","name":"Georgia Tech"},{"id":"1202","name":"H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering"},{"id":"17621","name":"In Pursuit of the Traveling Salesman"},{"id":"168854","name":"School of Mathematics"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:barbara.christopher@isye.gatech.edu\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBarbara Christopher\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIndustrial and Systems Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404.385.3102\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}