UE Operations research in industry: challenges and limits - 4GUL12B1

Goal(s)

This course explores advanced Operations Research (OR) techniques related to industrial applications (1) with an analysis regarding the limits of industrial society (2).

Content(s)

(1) OR techniques are presented through a number of academic problems (Traveling Salesman, Bin-Packing, Scheduling) related to emblematic
large-scale industrial contexts. In particular, we focus on advanced Integer linear Programming (IP) techniques: cutting plane algorithms, IP models related to dynamic programming models and Dantzig Wolfe decomposition (column generation). For each technique we give the
minimum required theoretical background but the focus is done on the practical implementation.

(2) The analysis of the limits is proposed through readings sessions where short excerpts will be read and discussed together. A number of
thinkers of industrial society have been selected, mainly from a philosophy, sociology corpus (but not only). History of OR is also
explored through the reading sessions.

The course is organized in several blocs of 9 hours (including TPs or practical sessions) where students work in team. In each bloc, an OR technique/result is presented with a an academic problem, each group work to together to implement the technique as well as simple IP models, and a reading/discussion of the limits is proposed.

Requirements: fundamentals of linear programming (simplex, duality) and integer linear programming (linear relaxation, branch and bound). Basic programming skills (ex: java/python).