Management Science and Information Systems' Seminar（2017-10）

Topic: Some Recent Results on Linear Programming Based Approximate Dynamic Programming

Speaker: Dan Zhang, Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado Boulder

Time: Monday, July 3rd, 09:00-10:30 a.m

Place: Room 217, Guanghua Building 2

Abstract:

The linear programming based approximate dynamic programming has received considerable attention in the recent literature. In this approach, high dimensional dynamic programs are solved approximately as large scale linear programs to tackle the curse of dimensionality. The linear programming formulations are called approximate linear programs (ALPs) and typically have a large number of decision variables and constraints. A major challenge of the approach therefore lies in efficient solution of the ALPs. In this talk, I report some recent applications and theoretical results in this area of research. Example applications include network revenue management, medical appointment scheduling, and queueing control. I will conclude with discussions on research directions and also potential applications in other application areas.

Introduction:

Dan Zhang is Associate Professor of Operations Management at Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado Boulder. Dr. Zhang’s primary research interest is data-driven decision making with applications to pricing and revenue management, supply chain management, and healthcare operations. He published about twenty peer-reviewed journal articles on these topics and frequently speaks at conferences, companies, and academic institutions. He consulted in his area of expertise for companies in Canada, China, Europe, and United States. He is the current president of the INFORMS Rocky Mountain Chapter, a society of analytics professionals in the rocky mountain region in the United States. More recently, he was elected chair of INFORMS Pricing and Revenue Management Section, an international society of pricing and revenue management researchers and professionals. He is a Senior Editor for the journal Production and Operations Management and a frequent reviewer for academic journals and grant agencies. Dr. Zhang teaches in the area of operations management and data analytics in undergraduate, masters, MBA, and PhD programs. Together with two colleagues, he has been offering a five course specialization on Data Analytics for Business since September 2016 on the MOOC platform Coursera.

http://www.danzhang.com

Your participation is warmly welcomed!