Over the last 30 years graph theory has evolved into an important math- ematical tool in the solution of a wide variety of problems in many areas of society. The purpose of this book is to present selected topics from this theory that have been found useful and to point out various applications. Some important theoretical topics have been omitted as they are not es- sential for the applications in Part II. Hence Part I should not be seen as a well-rounded treatise on the theory of graphs. Some effort has been made to present new applications that do not use merely the notation and ter-...

Optimization is the process by which the optimal solution to a problem, or optimum, is produced. The word optimum has come from the Latin word optimus, meaning best. And since the beginning of his existence Man has strived for that which is best. There has been a host of contributions, from Archimedes to the present day, scattered across many disciplines. Many of the earlier ideas, although interesting from a theoretical point of view, were originally of little practical use, as they involved a daunting amount of com- putational effort. Now modern computers perform calculations, whose time...

The major purpose of this book is to introduce the main concepts of discrete optimization problems which have a finite number of feasible solutions. Following common practice, we term this topic combinatorial optimization. There are now a number of excellent graduate-level textbooks on combina- torial optimization. However, there does not seem to exist an undergraduate text in this area. This book is designed to fill this need. The book is intended for undergraduates in mathematics, engineering, business, or the physical or social sciences. It may also be useful as a reference text for...