The LANCS (Lancaster, Nottingham, Cardiff and Southampton) Initiative in Foundational Operational Research: Building Theory for Practice
Lead Research Organisation:
Lancaster University
Department Name: Management Science
Abstract
The United Kingdom is the home of Operational Research (OR) and it maintains an application-oriented research tradition which is both true to its roots and which is also highly distinctive, if not unique. Many industries and public services are the beneficiaries of this effort, not least healthcare, finance, transport and defence. However, the EPSRC/ESRC 2004 International Review of the Research Status of OR in the UK warned that this leading position in applied work in OR could be jeopardised in the absence of a critical mass of researchers developing underpinning theory.In the LANCS (Lancaster, Nottingham, Cardiff, Southampton) initiative, four universities, which have been at the forefront of UK research in OR, have committed to a major expansion of research capacity in its theoretical foundations, supported by the additional resources available as a result of the current Science and Innovation call. The universities concerned have already worked together in the creation of NATCOR, an EPSRC-supported initiative aimed at strengthening doctoral programmes in the mathematics of OR. They have also evidenced their commitment to the subject by recent decisions (in advance of this call) to invest substantially in it.In total, the LANCS initiative will oversee additional new investment of approximately 12M through the five year period of the award, of which more than half comes from the institutions themselves. All the institutions have also committed to sustaining this additional capacity beyond the five year EPSRC funded period. This will have a major impact on the subject. The initiative aims to build and maintain a substantial new national capacity in its theoretical base by establishing this major cross-institutional and multi-disciplinary collaboration. Such a programme is crucial to support the health of the application oriented research which was highlighted as such a strength by the 2004 international review. Indeed, the main motivation of this proposal is to underpin the health of the UK research base in this critically important area. This far sighted initiative aims to establish theoretical advances in the field which are informed by, and which feed into, real applications.
Organisations
Publications
Zografos K
(2010)
A decision support system for total airport operations management and planning
in Journal of Advanced Transportation
Worthington D
(2017)
Reflections on queue modelling from the last 50 years
in Journal of the Operational Research Society
Wen L
(2015)
Minimum cost VRP with time-dependent speed data and congestion charge
in Computers & Operations Research
Wen L
(2014)
Finding a minimum cost path between a pair of nodes in a time-varying road network with a congestion charge
in European Journal of Operational Research
Wang J
(2013)
Modelling route choice behaviour in a tolled road network with a time surplus maximisation bi-objective user equilibrium model
in Transportation Research Part B: Methodological
Wallace S
(2011)
Flexibility, information structure, options, and market power in robust supply chains
in International Journal of Production Economics
Wallace S
(2009)
Stochastic programming and the option of doing it differently
in Annals of Operations Research
Vaagen H
(2011)
Modelling consumer-directed substitution
in International Journal of Production Economics
Vaagen H
(2011)
The value of numerical models in quick response assortment planning
in Production Planning & Control
Thapalia B
(2012)
Single-commodity network design with random edge capacities
in European Journal of Operational Research
Thapalia B
(2011)
Single source single-commodity stochastic network design
in Computational Management Science
Thapalia B
(2017)
Single-Commodity Network Design with Stochastic Demand and Multiple Sources and Sinks
in INFOR: Information Systems and Operational Research
Thapalia B
(2009)
Using inventory to handle risks in the supply of oil to Nepal
in International Journal of Business Performance and Supply Chain Modelling
Shen H
(2011)
The component procurement problem for the loss-averse manufacturer with spot purchase
in International Journal of Production Economics
Rahman MA
(2022)
Quercetin attenuates viral infections by interacting with target proteins and linked genes in chemicobiological models.
in In silico pharmacology
Qian J
(2016)
Fuel emissions optimization in vehicle routing problems with time-varying speeds
in European Journal of Operational Research
Pang Z
(2012)
Technical Note-A Note on the Structure of Joint Inventory-Pricing Control with Leadtimes
in Operations Research
Pang Z
(2011)
Optimal dynamic pricing and inventory control with stock deterioration and partial backordering
in Operations Research Letters
Onggo S
(2012)
Behavioural modelling of career progression in the European Commission
in European Journal of Operational Research
Muklason A.
(2014)
Fairness in examination timetabling: Student preferences and extended formulations
in PATAT 2014 - Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on the Practice and Theory of Automated Timetabling
Mu Q
(2017)
Disruption management of the vehicle routing problem with vehicle breakdown
in Journal of the Operational Research Society
Mu Q
(2011)
Disrupted capacitated vehicle routing problem with order release delay
in Annals of Operations Research
Meissner J
(2010)
Pricing structure optimization in mixed restricted/unrestricted fare environments
in Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management
McGillicuddy D.
(2014)
An investigation into the use of haskell for dynamic programming
in PATAT 2014 - Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on the Practice and Theory of Automated Timetabling
| Description | The LANCS Initiative has grown research capability in foundational OR in the UK. 22 permanent academic posts (lecturer, senior lecturer and professor) have been established in the four universities (Lancaster, Nottingham, Cardiff and Southampton). Significant progress has been achieved in the six research clusters (Healthcare, Optimisation, Transport and Logistics, Heuristic Understanding, Stochastic Modelling and Systems to Build Systems). For details of collaboration, dissemination and research impact, please refer to the 60-month report at the URL below. |
| Exploitation Route | Please refer to the LANCS Initiative 60-month report at the URL below. Please refer to the LANCS Initiative 60-month report at the URL below. |
| Sectors | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Energy,Environment,Healthcare,Transport |
| URL | http://www.lancs-initiative.ac.uk/page/211/60-Month-Report.htm |
| Description | Impact has been achieved in the following areas: Air transportation Health care Revenue Management Green logistics |
| First Year Of Impact | 2012 |
| Sector | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Education,Energy,Environment,Healthcare,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Retail,Security and Diplomacy,Transport |
| Impact Types | Societal,Economic,Policy & public services |