Blowup algebras of square-free monomial ideals and some links to combinatorial optimization problems

Let I=(x^{v_1},...,x^{v_q} be a square-free monomial ideal of a polynomial ring K[x_1,...,x_n] over an arbitrary field K and let A be the incidence matrix with column vectors {v_1},...,{v_q}. We will establish some connections between algebraic properties of certain graded algebras associated to I and combinatorial optimization properties of certain polyhedrons and clutters associated to A and I respectively. Some applications to Rees algebras and combinatorial optimization are presented. We study a conjecture of Conforti and Cornu\'ejols using an algebraic approach.