Operations Research Research

The OR group in the department is carrying out research on a variety of topics, emphasizing Mathematical Programming, Continuous and Discrete Opimization, Network Flows, Queuing Theory and Reliability. Professor Marc Teboulle, the principal investigator in Continuous Optimization, has concentrated mainly on the theory and development of  algorithms in nonlinear programming in particular in convex and  nonsmooth optimization and variational inequalites,   with applications to a variety of engineering problems . The research in Discrete Optimization in the department is led by Professors Refael Hassin and Arie Tamir. In recent years the main emphasis has been on network flows, the developement of approximation algorithms for hard combinatorial problems, and the design and analysis of algorithms in location theory. Professor Uri Yechiali leads the research in Queuing Theory and Reliability. In Reliability Theory the research has been concentrated on characterizing optimal repair and replacement policies for stochasically deteriorating systems.  In the last decade most of his studies have been on performance evaluation of communication networks, optimal control of polling systems, and their applications to telecommunication problems.