Memetic Algorithm

A Memetic Algorithm (MA) is a population-based metaheuristic that combines the global exploration of an evolutionary algorithm with the local exploitation of individual learning procedures. Introduced by Pablo Moscato in 1989 at Caltech, MAs draw on Richard Dawkins' concept of the meme — a unit of cultural transmission — to model the idea that solutions can improve not only through crossover and mutation but also through individual refinement within each generation.