Karen Smilowitz

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Curriculum Vita

Students

Current graduate students

Guangming Zhang,Ph.D. candidate, expected completion 2007
The research focuses on the modeling and solution methods for the 
Multi-Resource Routing Problem (MRRP) with flexible tasks, which is
used to model routing and scheduling problems for intermodal drayage 
operations. A new column generation approach is applied, resulting in 
the pricing sub-problems which can be modeled as the Multiple Choice 
Elementary Constrained Shortest Path Problem (MCECSPP). In the 
MCECSPP, nodes are separated into subsets and a feasible path through 
the network may contain at most one node from each subset. 
Computational results show significant improvements in solution 
quality and greater flexibility in solving the MRRP.


Robert Lien,Ph.D. candidate, expected completion 2007
Our research is on the efficient design of transshipment networks.
Transshipment at the same echelon level have been shown to be a
beneficial alternative to emergency replenishment from a central
supplier.  We study the design of these transshipment networks,
specifically we borrow the idea of 'chaining' from the fields of
production and manufacturing.  Our goal is to develop principles and
measures to effectively evaluate and design good transshipment networks.  
Co-advised with Seyed Iravani.


Former graduate students

Peter Francis,Ph.D. 2006, 
Dissertation title: Service choice in periodic distribution operations: models and algorithms

Christopher Neuman, MS 2003.

Karen Smilowitz, Guangming Zhang and Peter Francis

Peter Francis at his PhD hooding with his father and Karen Smilowitz