Operations Research in Australia. The Experts Speak!
7-8th of July, 2008 UNSW@ADFA, Canberra, Australia
Background | The Conference | Program | Venue | Registration | Contact
Background
Operations Research (OR), which is also called Operations Analysis or Management Science, relates to advising executives Government, Industry and other Enterprises so that better decisions are made. The range of OR applications is vast. Decisions may relate to optimum business practices, major acquisitions or broad program planning. Whatever the activity, input of OR advice will ensure that decisions are made with less risk
Despite the desperate need in the market for OR analysts, the profession is faced with a number of challenges: (1) the reduction in the number of students taking OR courses; (2) the lack of understanding among some practitioners and organisations of what OR is about; (3) the disciplinary views of OR where some see it as mathematics, some see it as computer science, and others see it as management. However, in reality OR is none of these - it is an independent discipline that supports the decision making process in a scientific and rigorous manner. A tongue in cheek description is “scientific common sense”! These reasons motivated the unique structure of this conference.
OR provides advice to many potential clients. We wish to explore the whole spread of OR within Australia – from mathematical optimisation of well defined problems through to strategic planning where the issues themselves need to be teased out. One of the key aspects of OR is engagement of the client – thus this conference will be presented in terms of what can and can’t be achieved, what techniques can be used, past successes (and failures!).
The Conference
Sponsored by Research Network for a Secure Australia (RNSA), the Canberra Chapter of the Australian Operations Research Society (ASOR), and the Defence and Security Applications Research Centre (DSARC) at UNSW@ADFA
The clients for this conference include: potential users of OR in government, business and industry; and educators seeking to attune University courses to the needs of the market. The structure of this conference is that we have invited a range of OR professionals from different backgrounds to give their perspectives on what OR is, what it can do and where it should be going. This conference is intended to be interactive and generous question and answer times are included in the program. There will also be further opportunities to talk to the practitioners at the breaks and the conference dinner.
Program
Invited speakers will present as follows:
- 25 minutes introduction to their specialist area of OR in plain language terms;
- 25 minutes discussing advanced concepts, challenges and open problems in their area; and
- 10 minutes of discussion and questions.
A copy of the presentations will be made available to all participants.
Day 1
8:30 Registration
9:00 Prof. John Baird, Rector, UNSW@ADFA, Welcome
9:05 Dr Len Sciacca, DSTO, Opening
9:15 Dr. Jeremy Manton, DSTO, The need for OR in organisations
10:00 Morning Coffee
10:30 Prof. Natashia Boland, University of Newcastle, Progress and challenges in linear programming, integer programming, and their applications
11:30 Prof. Louis Caccetta, Curtin University, Effective computational models for constrained path problems
12:30 Lunch [Officers Mess]
13:30 Prof. Amrik Sohal, Monash, Applying Operations Research to Designing and Managing Supply Chains
14:30 Dr. Ruhul Sarker, UNSW@ADFA, Why use evolutionary computation for solving optimisation problems?
15:30 Afternoon Coffee
16:00 Prof. Neville Curtis, DSTO, Operations Research at the front end
17:00 Close
1900-2200 Conference Dinner, Old Parliament House, King George Terrace, Parkes ACT 2600]
Day 2
9:00 Dr. Richard Davis, Office of National Security, Prime Minister & Cabinet Department, Challenges for OR in the national security domain
10:00 Morning Coffee
10:30 A/Prof. Moshe Sniedovich, Melbourne University, Responsible decision-making in the face of severe uncertainty
11:30 Prof. Hussein Abbass, UNSW@ADFA, Managing the known and preparing for the unknown: computational scenarios for analysis and planning
12:30 Lunch [Officers Mess]
13:30 Dr. Bruce Fairlie, DSTO, Defence OR in the air domain
14:30 Dr. Paul Whitbread, DSTO, OR for command and control analysis
15:30 Afternoon Coffee
16:00 Russell Hay & Paul Trushell, Geoscience Australia and Attorney General Department, CIPMA: A computational tool to support government & business decision making
17:00 Close
Venue
UNSW@ADFA
The Australian Defence Force Academy,
Canberra, ACT 2600.
Registration
* All prices are GST inclusive and include the dinner
Early Bird before 15th-April-2008
$550 Full rate
$250 Students rate
Normal Registration 15th-April-2008 to 15th-May-2008
$600 Full rate
$300 Students rate
Late Registration 16th-May-2008 onwards
$700 Full rate
$350 Students rate
To register, simply download and complete the registration form and return by fax or mail with your payment.
Contact
Ms. Fiona Richmond
Phone: (02) 62688 087
Fax: (02) 62688 933
Email: f.richmond@adfa.edu.au