Optimisation is concerned with the maximisation or minimisation of functions of many variables. It is a multidisciplinary field, having numerous applications in Management Science, Operational Research, Finance, Statistics, Computer Science, Engineering and the Physical Sciences.
The Optimisation group in Lancaster is one of the largest in Europe, with over fifteen full-time faculty members, in addition to postdocs and PhD students.
We have particular strengths in the following areas:
- Exact Algorithms for Combinatorial, Global and Robust Optimisation
- Meta-Heuristics and Hyper-Heuristics
- Computing Efficient Frontiers for Multi-Objective Combinatorial Problems
- Computing Near-Optimal Policies for Stochastic Dynamic Problems
- Applications in Logistics, Healthcare, Finance, Telecommunications and Data Analytics.
Current projects
- Dr Christopher Kirkbride, Dr Peter Jacko, Dr Robert Shone and Dr Anna-Lena Sachs work on optimal policies for stochastic resource-allocation problems. The classical approach to solving such problems, stochastic dynamic programming, becomes computationally infeasible once the system reaches a certain level of complexity. Current research focuses on alternative methods, based for example on Lagrangian relaxation, to develop near-optimal policies.
- Professor Konstantinos G Zografos, Dr Burak Boyaci and Dr Jamie Fairbrother are mainly interested in developing models and algorithms for practical problems which arise in the context of logistics, such as vehicle routing, facility location or airline scheduling problems. They are particularly interested in applications in which environmental considerations are an important factor.
- Professor Adam Letchford and Dr Thu Dang work on exact solution methods and bounding procedures for hard optimisation problems. They work mainly on discrete (aka combinatorial) problems, but also occasionally on continuous (aka global) problems. The solution methods are typically based on linear, quadratic or semidefinite programming.
- Dr Ahmed Kheiri researches into the development, analysis and implementation of heuristic techniques for solving complex real-life optimisation problems.
- Professor Matthias Ehrgott works mainly on multi-objective optimisation problems, particularly in algorithms for producing sets of efficient solutions for combinatorial problems and applications in medicine and transportation.
- Professor Guglielmo Lulli’s research interests focus on both deterministic and stochastic optimisation, particularly as applied to ground and air transportation, energy and bio-computational problems.
Members of the group have been on the editorial boards of journals such as: Computational Optimization and Applications, Computers & Operations Research, Discrete Optimization, EURO Journal of Computational Optimization, Journal of Global Optimization, Mathematical Programming, Naval Research Logistics and Operations Research.
If you have any queries you wish to discuss, please contact Dr Burak Boyaci. If you would like to apply for a PhD, please see our PhD admissions page.
Applying for PhD study in LUMS
