English
March 2011
Hello Analytica Users!
Here's the March edition of the Analytica Newsletter, the more-or-less monthly resource for Analytica tips, features, news, and updates. And speaking of updates, we have a big one to announce this month: the release of Analytica 4.3! We look forward to hearing your first impressions.
Thanks for your support,
Paul Sanford
Editor
Yes it's here!
On March 16, Lumina announced that a major new release: Analytica 4.3 is now available! This is a very significant release with many new useful features. At the top of the list is the introduction of Structured Optimizationin the Optimizer edition. There are also significant improvements to all Analytica editions. Here is a brief outline of new capabilities:
Structured Optimization:
- You can specify constraint arrays using simple inequality expressions in Constraint nodes, a new type of influence diagram object.
- You can implement all types of optimization (LP, QP, NLP) using the same functions and basic modeling structure. Analytica analyzes the problem and chooses the problem type automatically.
- Enjoy full optimization compatibility with Analytica’s Intelligent Arrays. You can even add scenario dimensions to existing inputs to create arrays of separate optimization runs.
Enhancements to all editions:
- New built-in functions that address dispatch of limited resource capacities, memory compression for large arrays, mathematical set handling, and inverse hyperbolic trig functions.
- Introduction of Domain Expressions giving you more options in defining variable types.
- Improved stability and user interface enhancements.
- Improved date handling.
- Increased capacity for the number of user objects in 64-bit versions.
To celebrate the launch, Lumina is offering special pricing on upgrades to the Optimizer edition of Analytica 4.3 from now through April 30th. See our website for details. Limited trials of Analytica Optimizer 4.3 are also available.
New opportunities emerge in China
Chairman Hu Jintao of China often emphasizes the value of comprehensively integrating quantitative data and expert analysis from a wide range of sources in order to form a highly intelligent system. The so-called meta-synthesis method has proven its value in China since its introduction by scientist Qian Xueseng in 1990. It is not surprising, therefore, that Chinese private industry managers, academic researchers, and government representatives were highly interested in what Lumina’s Director of Business for Asia Pacific, Dr. Xirong Jiang, had to say during her recent visit to China. Xirong’s specific focus was on the development of low-carbon economy in the United States and its future impact on transportation technologies. Private industry audiences included Gold Mellon Asset Managment Co, Ltd., and Shanghai Leading Tech Co, Ltd. Academic audiences included Zhejiang University, Tongji University and Shanghai Maritime University. Governmental organizations included the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the State Information Center of China, and the China Economic Information Network. Xirong was encouraged by the feedback she received from all audiences. They spoke highly of Analytica and recognized that its usefulness is especially timely in regard to the type of analyses they would like to develop at this stage of economic development. We welcome these new opportunities and look forward to doing more business in China!
Lumina Makes Open Source Decision Models Available
We have been fortunate to have worked on consulting projects that offer public benefits such as fisheries management, assessment of climate change effects, load shifting of electrical grids, and the ecology of decommissioning offshore oil rigs. These projects represent a significant amount of effort in research and problem solving strategies. We recognize that each of them has the potential to offer benefits beyond their immediately intended goals. By making these models available to anyone interested to download, review, and run with varying assumptions, we hope to spur ideas and encourage new projects with similar benefits. Analytica models are designed to be transparent and easily shared. We believe it is a useful platform for the open exchange of quantifiable information and analysis. Please take a moment to review the Open Source Decision Models available on our website. We hope you will find them useful and thought-provoking.
Introductory Optimization Webinar Series Continues
Coinciding with the release of Structured Optimization in Analytica Optimizer 4.3, we have started a new series of User Group Webinars to help you get your feet wet with the new software. Two webinars have already been presented, and their recordings are available:
Next week, Thursday 31-March-2011 10:00am PDT, Lonnie Chrisman will conduct the next Analytica User Group Webinar, "Optimizing Parameters in a Complex Model to Match Historical Data". This will provide another application of the use of the Structured Optimization facilities in Analytica Optimizer 4.3. We hope to see you there! Register now.
In other news
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