Research Clusters

Last Updated on Friday, 16 July 2010 14:00

The research is divided into a variety of themes each with an associated cluster. These are currently as described below.

Newsflash (I): Following advice from our advisory panels, the green logistics and transport clusters have been merged.
Newsflash (II): A new research cluster, concerned with stochastic modelling, is under construction.

Transport and Logistics

Coordinators: Richard Eglese, Lancaster University and Chris Potts, Southampton University.

This theme is concerned with the challenges to O.R. posed by both passenger transport and the production and distribution of goods, taking into account environmental, technological and social factors. The programme will aim to move beyond the simple models of the current state of the art to build and theoretically analyse models which capture real world complexity.

Healthcare

Coordinator: Jeff Griffiths, Cardiff University.

Many healthcare issues generate extremely complex O.R. problems or, more accurately, a complex interaction of several complex O.R. problems. Little progress has been made in understanding such interactions. This will be the focus of this research cluster.

Optimisation

Coordinator: Adam Letchford, Lancaster University.

Discrete optimisation is concerned with problems in which some or all of the variables are restricted to take values from a finite set. Non-linear optimisation, on the other hand, is concerned with continuous problems in which the objective function and/or constraints are non-linear. The purpose of this research cluster is to develop further links between the two fields.

Heuristic Understanding

Coordinator: Andrew Parkes, University of Nottingham

A range of alternative heuristic and meta-heuristic approaches exists for solving complex optimisation and decision problems. Specific approaches can work very well in some contexts and very poorly in others.  At present, there is not much useful theory to guide the choice of an approach when faced with a new problem.  This research cluster aims to significantly extend the existing theory.

Systems to Build Systems

Coordinator: Edmund Burke, University of Nottingham

The current state of the art in the development of decision support system methodologies is focused around the human design of bespoke systems, which are specifically tailored to the particular problem solving environment in hand. The goal of this research cluster is to support the development of automated systems to build and design search methodologies.