Summary

• Spotlights on ... - Pushing blackbox and derivative-free optimization into the mainstream
• Impact papers - Extracting latent states from high-frequency options prices
• Collaborations - MILA: Artificial intelligence for good
• Actions and Interactions - 2018 thematic year: Smart cities
• Who are they? - Mehiddin Al-Baali
• Postdoctoral fellows - Amine Amrouss, Margarida Carvalho, Amir Farshbaf-Geranmayeh, Patrick Munroe
• Where are they now? - Ramla Jarrar, Goran Stojkovic, Marnie Vodounou
• GERAD news brief