PHYSTAT Seminar: A general introduction to continuous optimization

<!--HTML--><p>In this talk, I will give an introduction to the field of continuous optimization. I will provide instances of optimization problems that appear in biology and physics through the concept of optimization landscapes. I will review sampling-based approaches as well as gradient-based methods and focus on concepts rather than derivations of specific algorithms. The lecture is intended for &nbsp;a&nbsp;general audience and will give some recipes for how to think about optimization in general. I will also give some examples related&nbsp;to deep learning if time permits.</p>