Applications of operations research to transportation, logistics, fairness issues, and other topics

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The proposed research program is part of a long-term, continuing effort aimed at developing effective decision support tools based on operations research methods (mathematical models, solution algorithms, computer procedures and software) to tackle important problems encountered in the planning and operations of transportation and logistical networks, as well as some other application areas (energy generation and storage, healthcare, etc.) . This implies, among other things, deriving necessary theoretical results whenever required by the situation at hand and seeking for cutting-edge performance in all algorithms and software that are developed. Another key issue is that of relevance, i.e., this program aims ultimately at providing solution approaches for problems that are both important in real, practical settings and scientifically challenging. Regarding short-term objectives, the proposed research program aims at: 1.Developing models and related methodological tools (algorithms, theoretical results, etc.) that account better for the inherent uncertainty encountered in many important practical situations; 2.Examining carefully the benefits to be gained from access to massive data, as well as from the methodological interactions between more traditional operations research approaches and techniques from data science and machine learning; 3.Tackling new research themes that deal with issues and practices that have appeared in recent years in several fields (transportation with electrical vehicles, sharing economy approaches in transportation and logistics, energy storage for sustainable generation, etc.); among these, one research stream is of special interest in the context of the current concerns about Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: the use of operations research tools in the context of fairness issues in artificial intelligence. Efforts will be made to ensure the transfer of the results of the research program to industry and public authorities that are most susceptible to use them. Considering the huge amounts that the public and the private sectors devote each year to the deployment and operation of transportation and logistical networks, as well as healthcare and energy, the long-term socio-economic impact of this research program could prove to be extremely significant.