# The ALAMO approach to machine learning

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1705.10918 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1705.10918/

## Key facts

- Cited by 18 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 31 May 2017.

## Built on by (most cited first, 18 of 18)

- [OMLT: Optimization & Machine Learning Toolkit](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2202.02414/) (2022)
- [Physics-Informed Neural Networks with Hard Linear Equality Constraints](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.07251/) (2024)
- [Maximizing information from chemical engineering data sets: Applications to machine learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.10035/) (2022)
- [Physics-Informed Neural Networks with Hard Nonlinear Equality and Inequality Constraints](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.08124/) (2025)
- [Learning Optimal Prescriptive Trees from Observational Data](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.13628/) (2021)
- [Machine learning for industrial sensing and control: A survey and practical perspective](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.13836/) (2024)
- [Modern Machine Learning Tools for Monitoring and Control of Industrial Processes: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.11123/) (2022)
- [Data-driven decision-focused surrogate modeling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.12161/) (2023)
- [Global Optimization: A Machine Learning Approach](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.01742/) (2023)
- [Outlier detection in regression: conic quadratic formulations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.05975/) (2023)
- [Quo Vadis ChatGPT? From Large Language Models to Large Knowledge Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.19561/) (2024)
- [KAN-SR: A Kolmogorov-Arnold Network Guided Symbolic Regression Framework](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.10089/) (2025)
- [Transfer Learning in Information Criteria-based Feature Selection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2107.02847/) (2021)
- [Maximum-likelihood Estimators in Physics-Informed Neural Networks for High-dimensional Inverse Problems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.05991/) (2023)
- [On-Demand Model and Client Deployment in Federated Learning with Deep Reinforcement Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.07175/) (2024)
- [Industrial Data Science for Batch Manufacturing Processes](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.09660/) (2022)
- [A Novel Black Box Process Quality Optimization Approach based on Hit Rate](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.20003/) (2023)
- [Discovering Interpretable Ordinary Differential Equations from Noisy Data](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.21841/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

ALAMO is a computational methodology for leaning algebraic functions from data. Given a data set, the approach begins by building a low-complexity, linear model composed of explicit non-linear transformations of the independent variables. Linear combinations of these non-linear transformations allow a linear model to better approximate complex behavior observed in real processes. The model is refined, as additional data are obtained in an adaptive fashion through error maximization sampling using derivative-free optimization. Models built using ALAMO can enforce constraints on the response variables to incorporate first-principles knowledge. The ability of ALAMO to generate simple and accurate models for a number of reaction problems is demonstrated. The error maximization sampling is compared with Latin hypercube designs to demonstrate its sampling efficiency. ALAMO's constrained regression methodology is used to further refine concentration models, resulting in models that perform better on validation data and satisfy upper and lower bounds placed on model outputs.
