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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><a href="https://www.springer.com/journal/43069/updates/18357818">https://www.springer.com/journal/43069/updates/18357818</a><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Advances, Applications & Challenges in Metaheuristics: In Celebration of the Cuckoo Search Algorithm<o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Overview</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Cuckoo Search, a nature inspired optimization algorithm, was invented by Xin-She Yang (UK) & Suash Deb (India) 10 years ago. Since then it had been
 proved to be an important & a very useful tool for addressing myriads of optimization problems, both for industrial applications as well as for theoretical ones. Recently the 1st publication of Cuckoo search, published in the year 2009, reached 5000 citations
 (Google Scholar). In order to celebrate these milestones, SN Operations Research Forum intends to publish a special topical collection by assembling a collection of papers and showcasing the recent efforts in the areas of metaheuristics and nature inspired
 computing. Accordingly, the journal invites manuscripts, which neither had been published already nor submitted for consideration elsewhere, for this special issue highlighting “Advances, Applications & Challenges in Metaheuristics” to be guest edited by Ka-Chun
 Wong (Hong Kong) & Thomas Hanne (Switzerland) & due for publication in 2021.<o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">The aim here is to present academicians/researchers/industry professionals/post graduate students some of state-of-the-art research on metaheuristics
 and the cuckoo algorithm through a cluster of original research contributions in any aspect of the below areas as well as their novel applications. Articles highlighting the challenges as faced by the researchers and/or envisaged by them as well as comprehensive
 surveys are also welcome in the aforesaid areas.<o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Along with Cuckoo Search (CS) and the other well-known metaheuristics algorithms like Particle swarm optimization (PSO), Ant colony optimization (ACO),
 Memetic algorithms, Evolutionary algorithms, Simulated annealing, Artificial bee colony etc., articles dealing with the following (but not limited to) areas are also solicited: • Artificial immune systems • Chaos optimization • Central Force Optimization •
 Chicken Swarm Optimization • Earthworm Optimization • Elephant Herding Optimization • Firefly algorithm • Grey wolf optimization • Harmony search • Monarch butterfly optimization • Rainfall optimization • Sperm Swarm optimization • Tabu search • Wolf search
 optimization • Whale optimization<o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Guest Editors</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Ka-Chun Wong,</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> Dept. of Computer
 Science, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong (<a href="mailto:kc.w@cityu.edu.hk"><span style="color: rgb(41, 98, 255);">kc.w@cityu.edu.hk</span></a>)<o:p> </o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri, sans-serif;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l2 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list 36.0pt">
<b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Thomas Hanne,</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> Inst. of Information
 Systems, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, Switzerland (<a href="mailto:thomas.hanne@fhnw.ch"><span style="color: rgb(41, 98, 255);">thomas.hanne@fhnw.ch</span></a>)<o:p> </o:p></span></li></ul>
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<b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Submission Procedure</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Papers should be submitted at the SN Operations Research Forum website: <a href="https://www.editorialmanager.com/orfo/default.aspx"><span style="color: rgb(41, 98, 255);">https://www.editorialmanager.com/orfo/default.aspx</span></a><o:p> </o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri, sans-serif;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list 36.0pt">
<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Select Article Type: Manuscript<o:p> </o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri, sans-serif;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list 36.0pt">
<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Upload your files. When the system asks, "Does this manuscript belong to a special issue?" reply: <b>Yes</b>, then choose the option “<b>Advances, Applications
 & Challenges in Metaheuristics: In Celebration of the Cuckoo Search</b>”<o:p> </o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri, sans-serif;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list 36.0pt">
<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Complete the the submission process as required.<o:p> </o:p></span></li></ul>
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<b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Important Dates</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Submission Deadline: March 30, 2021<o:p> </o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri, sans-serif;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo3;tab-stops:list 36.0pt">
<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Publication Date: Upon acceptance of each paper<o:p> </o:p></span></li></ul>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Papers are published upon acceptance, regardless of the Special Issue publication date.<o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<font face="Calibri,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font color="#1f497d" style="">Thanks for attention.</font></span></font></div>
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<font face="Calibri,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font color="#1f497d" style=""> </font></span></font></div>
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<div style="margin:0px"><font face="Calibri,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font color="#1f497d" style="">Kind Regards,</font></span></font></div>
<div style="margin:0px"><font face="Calibri,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font color="#1f497d" style="">Ka-Chun</font></span></font></div>
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<div style="margin:0px"><font face="Calibri,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font color="#1f497d" style="">----------------------------------------------</font></span></font></div>
<div style="margin:0px"><font face="Calibri,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font color="#1f497d" style="">Ka-Chun Wong</font></span></font></div>
<div style="margin:0px"><span style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125); font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px;">BEng, MPhil </span><span style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125); font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px;">(CUHK), </span><span style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125); font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px;">PhD </span><span style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125); font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px;">(Toronto)</span></div>
<div style="margin:0px"><font face="Calibri,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font color="#1f497d" style="">Department of Computer Science</font></span></font></div>
<div style="margin:0px"><font face="Calibri,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font color="#1f497d" style="">City University of Hong Kong</font></span></font></div>
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<div style="margin:0px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:11pt">Email:   kc.w@cityu.edu.hk</span><br style="font-family:Calibri,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:11pt">
<span style="font-family:Calibri,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:11pt">Web:    http://www6.cityu.edu.hk/stfprofile/kc.w.htm</span><font face="Calibri,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font color="#1f497d" style=""><br>
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