Solving Unsplittable Network Flow Problems with Decision Diagrams

In unsplittable network flow problems, certain nodes must satisfy a combinatorial requirement that the incoming arc flows cannot be split or merged when routed through outgoing arcs. This so-called “no-split no-merge” requirement arises in unit train scheduling where train consists should remain intact at stations that lack necessary equipment and manpower to attach/detach them. Solving … Read more

A Robust Location-Allocation Model for Optimizing a Multi-Echelon Blood Supply Chain Network Under Uncertainty

Designing and planning blood supply chains is very complicated due to its uncertain nature, such as uncertain blood demand, high vulnerability to disruptions, irregular donation, and blood perishability. In this vein, this paper seeks to optimize a multi-echelon blood supply chain network under uncertainty by designing a robust location-allocation model. The magnitude of the earthquake … Read more

Stochastic Dynamic Lot-sizing with Supplier-Driven Substitution and Service Level Constraints

We consider a multi-stage stochastic lot-sizing problem with service level constraints and supplier-driven product substitution. A firm has multiple products and it has the option to meet demand from substitutable products at a cost. Considering the uncertainty in future demands, the firm wishes to make ordering decisions in every period such that the probability that … Read more

Transportation and Inventory Planning in Serial Supply Chain with Heterogeneous Capacitated Vehicles

We study serial supply chain problems where a product is transported from a supplier to a warehouse (inbound transportation), and then from the warehouse (outbound transportation) to a retailer such that demand for a given planning horizon is satisfied. We consider heterogeneous vehicles of varying capacities for the transportation in each time period, and the … Read more

Γ-robust Optimization of Project Scheduling Problems

In this paper, we investigate the problem of finding a robust baseline schedule for the project scheduling problem under uncertain process times. We assume that the probability distribution for the duration is unknown but an estimation together with an interval in which this time can vary is given. At most $ \Gamma $ of the … Read more

A comparison of different approaches for the vehicle routing problem with stochastic demands

The vehicle routing problem with stochastic demands (VRPSD) is a well studied variant of the classic (deterministic) capacitated vehicle routing problem (CVRP) where the customer demands are given by random variables. Two prominent approaches for solving the VRPSD model it either as a chance-constraint program (CC-VRPSD) or as a two-stage stochastic program (2S-VRPSD). In this … Read more

Decremental State-Space Relaxations for the Basic Traveling Salesman Problem with a Drone

Truck-and-drone routing problems have become an important topic of research in the last decade due to their applications for last-mile deliveries. Despite the large number of publications in this area, the most efficient exact algorithms designed thus far struggle to solve the benchmark instances with 39 or more customers. This fact is true even for … Read more

Deep learning and hyperparameter optimization for assessing one’s eligibility for a subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator

In cardiology, it is standard for patients suffering from ventricular arrhythmias (the leading cause of sudden cardiac death) belonging to high risk populations to be treated using Subcutaneous Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators (S-ICDs). S-ICDs carry a risk of so-called T Wave Over Sensing (TWOS), which can lead to inappropriate shocks with an inherent health risk. For this … Read more

Scheduling of healthcare professionals using Bayesian Optimization

In this paper we present a Bayesian optimization framework that iteratively “learns” good schedules for healthcare professionals of outpatient healthcare in a hospital, that minimize the overall number of patients in queue — we understand that a patient in schedule is one in queue. The hospital has several medical specialties and each is modeled as … Read more

Stochastic Programming Models for a Fleet Sizing and Appointment Scheduling Problem with Random Service and Travel Times

We propose a new stochastic mixed-integer linear programming model for a home service fleet sizing and appointment scheduling problem (HFASP) with random service and travel times. Specifically, given a set of providers and a set of geographically distributed customers within a service region, our model solves the following decision problems simultaneously: (i) a fleet sizing … Read more