Models and Decomposition Methods for Facility Location and Network Design

现代制造业和供应链网络的日益复杂引起了人们对物流和运输在工程中的重要性的关注。物流处理的是商品从生产点到消费点的高效流动。它涉及采购、生产、库存、运输、仓储和材料搬运等多项活动的集成。在加拿大，运输和仓储部门在2016年占国内生产总值的4.6%，从而为经济贡献了748.1亿美元(见加拿大统计局)。因此，许多公司都将注意力转向物流和运输网络的优化，以确保产品在正确的时间、正确的地点以尽可能低的成本交付，同时将对环境的影响降至最低。电信系统的爆炸性增长，部分是由于互联网的广泛使用，使电信公司对确定其网络的最佳发展产生了至关重要的兴趣。在加拿大，2016年电信部门占GDP的1.8%。*这项研究计划集中于开发创新方法，以解决交通、物流和电信系统设计和运营中出现的复杂设施选址和网络设计问题，包括行业和公共部门。这些问题产生了数学模型，由于它们的规模和相关决策的内在复杂性，这些模型的求解非常具有挑战性。该计划旨在开发能够解决实际应用中出现的大规模、困难的离散优化模型的特别方法。这些方法将通过使用运筹学和分析中的最先进技术来开发。*这项研究计划致力于加强申请者在研究更复杂的问题方面的持续努力，这些问题结合了现实生活应用的几个特征。*该计划的长期愿景侧重于缩小运筹学中两个主要研究领域的理论、方法和实践之间的差距：设施选址和网络设计。特别是，该计划的长期目标是：第一部分，通过开发创新的模型和分解方法，提高我们解决大规模离散优化问题的能力；第二部分，通过研究枢纽网络设计、多种商品网络设计和离散设施选址领域的新问题，利用知识解决交通、物流和电信等广泛领域中更现实的应用。这项研究计划有可能为解决对加拿大经济具有高度实际意义的复杂问题作出重要贡献。

The increased complexity of modern manufacturing and supply chain networks has drawn attention to the importance of logistics and transportation in Engineering. Logistics deals with the efficient flow of goods from their points of production to their points of consumption. It involves the integration of several activities such as procurement, production, inventory, transportation, warehousing, and material handling. In Canada, the transportation and warehousing sector accounted for 4.6 % of the GDP in 2016 and thus, contributed $74.81 billion to the economy (see Statistics Canada). Many companies are thus turning their attention to the optimization of their logistics and transportation networks to ensure that the products are delivered at the right time, in the right place, at the least possible cost, while minimizing their environmental impact. The explosive growth of telecommunications systems, partly due to the widespread use of the internet, has made of vital interest for telecommunication firms the determination of the optimal evolution of their networks. In Canada, the telecommunications sector accounted for 1.8% of the GDP in 2016.******This research program is centered on the development of innovating methodologies for the solution of complex facility location and network design problems arising in the design and operation of transportation, logistics, and telecommunication systems, both from the industry and the public sector. These problems give rise to mathematical models which, due to their size and inherent complexity of their interrelated decisions, are very challenging to solve. This program aims to develop ad-hoc methods capable of solving large-scale, difficult discrete optimization models arising in real applications. These methods will be developed by using state-of-the-art techniques in operations research and analytics. ******This research program strives to intensify the continued efforts of the applicant in studying more complex problems that integrate several features of real-life applications.*The long term vision of this program focuses on closing the gap between theory, methodology and practice in two major research areas in operations research: facility location and network design. In particular, the long-term goals of this program are: Part I) increase our ability to solve large-scale discrete optimization problems by developing innovating models and decomposition methods, and Part II) exploit knowledge to solve more realistic applications in the broad areas of transportation, logistics, and telecommunications by studying new problems in the fields of hub network design, multi-commodity network design, and discrete facility location. This research program has the potential to make important contributions to the solution of complex problems of high practical relevance for the Canadian economy.***