The Operations Research / Management Science Blog

According to a recent article titled “Thomson Holidays automates online pricing adjustments” written by Ian Grant and published on ComputerWeekly.com, a new automated pricing system has been developed and is being used by Thomson Holidays, the UK’s biggest tour operator, to maximize their revenue.
This type of OR system is not new, especially to airline companies. [...]

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In his passionate talk, Dr. Hans Rosling tried to debunk the myths about economic and health issues in developing countries using state-of-the-art animation software developed by his foundation - Gapminder. The software, named Trendalyzer, converts boring data such as global income and health distribution into lively animations. Although the topic of his talk was not [...]

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When tourists are having good times, they rarely wonder if there is a unique group of people who do scientific research day after day just to ensure that their trips go smoothly and are as hassle-free as possible. These people, known as Operations Research (OR) specialists, make hidden contributions to the world by making everyday [...]

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With his love for hockey and the purpose of motivating his students, the Management Science (MS) professor Armann Ingolfsson at the University of Alberta School of Business developed a computer model to calculate the probability of which teams should make the NHL playoffs this year, and which should fail to do so.
His results indicate that [...]

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A special issue of Interfaces named “Operations Research in the E-Business Era” published several years ago included a number of journal articles on the applications of Operations Research (OR) in e-business. The issue delivered a simple but important message: OR plays a critical role in the digital economy. I have always been interested in the [...]

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According to Innovations Report, four British universities, Lancaster, Nottingham, Cardiff and Southampton, are brought together by a £12 million initiative named LANCS to boost Operational Research (OR) in the UK. The LANCS initiative is supported with a Science and Innovation Award from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), which is the main UK [...]

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I found this video on the iTunes store. It is a recording of Dr. Tuell Green’s talk on the applications of Operations Research (OR) in the airline industry. Dr. Green earned a Ph.D. in OR from University of North Carolina and worked with American Airlines in Texas. He specializes in Applied Probability in Queuing Theory. [...]

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An article titled “Model World: The Hidden Ingredient and Nature vs. Nurture” written by Dr. Saul I. Gass at the Decision and Information Technologies Department at University of Maryland was published on the current issue of Interfaces. In the article the author talked about what makes an individual the “OR type” of person by telling [...]

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On Jan 15, 2008, the annual trade show Macworld Conference & Expo was held in San Francisco, where the CEO of Apple Inc., Steve Jobs, introduced a new product called “Macbook Air“, which is an ultra-portable laptop. During his keynote speech, he mentioned that the retail packaging of Macbook Airs is 56% less in volume [...]

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Here is a great video of a professor discussing the importance of Operations Research.
Leon Lasdon, a professor in the Information, Risk, and Operations Management department at the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin, discussed the importance of operations research (OR) as an element of corporate decision making Oct. 16 during [...]

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