2 Takes on CyberInfrastructure for OR

1
2 Takes on CyberInfrastructure for OR

• 2004 NSF Design, Service and Manufacturing
  Grantees and Research Conference
• Workshop on CyberInfrastructure
• January 6, 2004
• Craig Tovey
• ISyE COC, Georgia Tech

2
Cyberinfrastructure - Current ActivitiesOperation
s Research take 1

• Research
• Repositories for implemented algorithms. Informs
  resource collection gt 100 packages and online
  programs
• COIN - OR
• NEOS Server
• Specific algorithms e.g. Yes semidefinite opt
  code
• Repositories for test problems. Informs
  resource 25 instance sets generators.
• DIMACS combinatorial challenge sets
• MIPLIB, LP test sets
• Problem specific sets e.g. TSP,QAP,VRPTW.
• Simulation tools relatively few, often
  commercial-linked
• Stat tools several libraries and web-available
  routines

3
Cyberinfrastructure - Current ActivitiesOperation
s Research take 1

• Education
• Lecture notes for many courses
• Tutorials on specialized topics
• Implementation
• Commercial optimization and modeling software
• Commercial simulation software
• Spreadsheet add-ins

4
Cyberinfrastructure Vision for DMIIOperations
Research- Take 1

• Research
• Unified, robust algorithms. Make it the standard
  that researchers add to the repository. We would
  build more on each others work. Quality and
  development speed would increase.
• Simulation building blocks
• Modeling
• Output analysis
• Parameter search
• Problem testbeds and instance generators.
• Education and Implementation
• More general modeling language, unifying CP,
  IP/LP, NLP.

5
Cyberinfrastructure Vision for DMIIOperations
Research- Take 2

• What are the big opportunities in OR?

6
Cyberinfrastructure Vision for DMIIOperations
Research- Take 2

• Claim OR is unusual among science/engineering
  disciplines in that the applicability of present
  technology, as perceived internally, is 10-100
  times the present level.
• Whats wrong? OR is about decision making, not
  just solving models. Old news
• but CyberInfrastructure could increase the
  applicability of OR by an order of magnitude.

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Cyberinfrastructure Vision for DMIIOperations
Research- Take 2

• How can CI help?
• CASE STUDIES.
• Gap exists between business problem and model
• We have 50 times as many algorithm sites as case
  study sites.
• Computing and web resources now capable of
  storing and transmitting the large, unstructured
  variegated info accompanying a real problem
• Use testbeds for both research and education

8
Cyberinfrastructure Vision for DMIIOperations
Research- Take 2

• TOOLS FOR ORGANIZING, VISUALIZING, CLEANING,
  EXTRACTING DATA FOR USE IN MODELING.
• Organizing and cleaning data blocks many
  applications.
• Expose students to messy problems and data.
  Greatly increase the number of graduates
  competent to use serious OR tools on real
  problems. B.S.-Ph.D.
• Collaborative work between statistics and OR
  might produce useful tools for linking data,
  forecasting, uncertainty in models.

9
Cyberinfrastructure Vision for DMIIOperations
Research- Take 2

• AUTOMATED OR INTELLIGENT-AGENT-GUIDED WEB-BASED
  MODELING.
• Enable end-user modeling (perhaps crude, perhaps
  if-then)
• It succeeds if it helps the decision-maker
  realize that the problem calls for OR methods
• Seamless links between modeling languages
  simulations, and spreadsheets databases.

10
Cyberinfrastructure Vision for DMIIOperations
Research- Take 2

• Virtual domains e.g. jobshop
• Descriptive modeling tools e.g. warehouse,
  supply chain