The interface of Operation Research and Computer Science - although elusive to a precise definition - has been a fertile area of both methodological and applied research. The papers in this book, written by experts in their respective fields, convey the current state-of-the-art in this interface across a broad spectrum of research domains which include optimization techniques, linear programming, interior point algorithms, networks, computer graphics in operations research, parallel algorithms and implementations, planning and scheduling, genetic algorithms, heuristic search techniques and data retrieval.

The disciplines of computer science and operations research (OR) have been linked since their origins, each contributing to the dramatic advances of the other. This work explores the connections between these key technologies: how high-performance computing methods have led to advances in OR de ployment, and how OR has contributed to the design and development of ad vanced systems. The collected writings-from researchers and practitioners in Computer Science, Operations Research, Management Science, and Artificial Intelligence-were among those delivered at the Fifth INFORMS Computer Science Technical Section Conference in Dallas, Texas, January 8-10, 1996. The articles advance both theory and practice. Presented are new approaches to complex problems based on: metaheuristics (neural networks, genetic al gorithms, and Tabu Search), optimization and mathematical programming, stochastic methods, constraint programming, and logical analysis. These ad vanced methodologies are applied to new applications in such areas as: telecom munications network design, financial engineering, manufacturing, project man agement, and forecasting, airline and machine scheduling, vehicle routing, mod eling and decision support systems. Featured is a remarkable paper by keynote speaker Fred Glover, creator of the Tabu Search family of metaheuristics. In it he develops the principles of memory-based heuristic methods, contrasts them with the popular genetic algorithms and simulated annealing, provides a sweeping survey of application vignettes, and points to promising avenues for future research.

Computer Science and Operations Research continue to have a synergistic relationship and this book - as a part of the Operations Research and Computer Science Interface Series - sits squarely in the center of the confluence of these two technical research communities. The research presented in the volume is evidence of the expanding frontiers of these two intersecting disciplines and provides researchers and practitioners with new work in the areas of logic programming, stochastic optimization, heuristic search and post-solution analysis for integer programs. The chapter topics span the spectrum of application level. Some of the chapters are highly applied and others represent work in which the application potential is only beginning. In addition, each chapter contains expository material and reviews of the literature designed to enhance the participation of the reader in this expanding interface.

Computing Tools for Modeling, Optimization and Simulation reflects the need for preserving the marriage between operations research and computing in order to create more efficient and powerful software tools in the years ahead. The 17 papers included in this volume were carefully selected to cover a wide range of topics related to the interface between operations research and computer science. The volume includes the now perennial applications of rnetaheuristics (such as genetic algorithms, scatter search, and tabu search) as well as research on global optimization, knowledge management, software rnaintainability and object-oriented modeling. These topics reflect the complexity and variety of the problems that current and future software tools must be capable of tackling. The OR/CS interface is frequently at the core of successful applications and the development of new methodologies, making the research in this book a relevant reference in the future. The editors' goal for this book has been to increase the interest in the interface of computer science and operations research. Both researchers and practitioners will benefit from this book. The tutorial papers may spark the interest of practitioners for developing and applying new techniques to complex problems. In addition, the book includes papers that explore new angles of well-established methods for problems in the area of nonlinear optimization and mixed integer programming, which seasoned researchers in these fields may find fascinating.

The emergence of high-performance computers and sophisticated software tech nology has led to significant advances in the development and application of operations research. In turn, the growing complexity of operations research models has posed an increasing challenge to computational methodology and computer technology. This volume focuses on recent advances in the fields of Computer Science and Operations Research, on the impact of technologi cal innovation on these disciplines, and on the close interaction between them. The papers cover many relevant topics: computational probability; design and analysis of algorithms; graphics; heuristic search and learning; knowledge-based systems; large-scale optimization; logic modeling and computation; modeling languages; parallel computation; simulation; and telecommunications. 1 This volume developed out of a conference held in Williamsburg, Virginia, January 5-7, 1994. It was sponsored by the Computer Science Technical Section of the Operations Research Society of America. The conference was attended by over 120 people from across the United States, and from many other countries. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the participants of the con ference, the authors, the anonymous referees, and the publisher for helping produce this volume. We express our special thanks to Bill Stewart and Ed Wasil for serving as Area Editors.

Operations Research and Cyber-Infrastructure is the companion volume to the Eleventh INFORMS Computing Society Conference (ICS 2009), held in Charleston, South Carolina, from January 11 to 13, 2009. It includes 24 high-quality refereed research papers. As always, the focus of interest for ICS is the interface between Operations Research and Computer Science, and the papers in this volume reflect that interest. This is naturally an evolving area as computational power increases rapidly while decreasing in cost even more quickly, and the papers included here illustrate the wide range of topics at this interface.

Operations Research: A Practical Introduction is just that: a hands-on approach to the field of operations research (OR) and a useful guide for using OR techniques in scientific decision making, design, analysis and management. The text accomplishes two goals. First, it provides readers with an introduction to standard mathematical models and algorithms. Second, it is a thorough examination of practical issues relevant to the development and use of computational methods for problem solving. Highlights: All chapters contain up-to-date topics and summaries A succinct presentation to fit a one-term course Each chapter has references, readings, and list of key terms Includes illustrative and current applications New exercises are added throughout the text Software tools have been updated with the newest and most popular software Many students of various disciplines such as mathematics, economics, industrial engineering and computer science often take one course in operations research. This book is written to provide a succinct and efficient introduction to the subject for these students, while offering a sound and fundamental preparation for more advanced courses in linear and nonlinear optimization, and many stochastic models and analyses. It provides relevant analytical tools for this varied audience and will also serve professionals, corporate managers, and technical consultants.