Evolutionary cmputation is one of the fastest growing areas of computer science, partly because of its broad applicability to engineering problems. The methods can be applied to problems as diverse as supply-chain optimization, routing and planning, task assignment, pharmaceutical design, interactive gaming, and many others within the signal processing domain. The text is an outgrowth of a series of SPIE short courses taught by the author. The examples span a range of applications and should be useful to a variety of readers of mixed backgrounds and expertise.