ISE has moved up 3 places in the U.S. News and World Report.
...more
APM Named Outstanding Chapter
...more
Sherali and colleagues win IFORS Prize
...more
ISE's and the Hokie Nation rally around Paul Torgersen
...more
ISE Faculty Generate 3 Best Paper Awards
...more
Undergraduate student team wins national facilities design competition sponsored by the College Industry Council on Material Handling Education (CICMHE) and Bastian Material Handling (BMH)
...more
Operations Research (OR) is a branch of industrial and systems engineering that deals with a scientific approach to solving problems faced by decision makers. Broadly defined, this field deals with the efficient design and operation of systems, usually seeking to determine an optimal or effective utilization and allocation of scarce resources. The tools of OR lie in the mathematical modeling and analysis of physical or economic systems, and its scope of application arises in varied walks of life, in the areas of business, industry, government, and national defense. As stiffer competition and lower resilience to business shock make companies and industries walk a tight line that separates success from failure, the emphasis of this field on both long-term (strategic) and short-term (tactical) efficiency and cost effectiveness are increasingly promoting its use in widely diverse areas.
The graduate course work and research orientation within the OR option is designed to educate the student in the process of constructing suitable analytical models for problems arising in various applications, using or developing appropriate (computerized) solution techniques for analyzing these models, and translating the results to implementation in practice. Toward this end, a series of courses have been designed that first provide a student with a knowledge of the tools of OR, followed by courses dealing with different areas of application in which such tools are utilized. The methodological courses cover optimization, stochastic systems modeling and analysis, and Monte Carlo simulation methodology. The application-oriented courses include a study of queueing networks, inventory systems, supply-chain systems, logistics, forecasting, quality assurance and reliability engineering, facilities design, sequencing and scheduling, and production planning and control. The OR faculty also operate and maintain the Simulation and Optimization Laboratory to support computational needs in all areas of operations research.
Each student pursuing the option in operations research should have completed a two-year sequence of courses in calculus and linear algebra equivalent to that required in undergraduate engineering programs. In addition, the student's prerequisites should include an entry-level course in basic probability theory (covering sample and event spaces, random variables, single and multivariate mass, density and distribution functions, independent and dependent random variables and expectation), and a course in statistical estimation and hypothesis testing methods (covering the fundamentals of point and interval estimation, hypothesis testing concerning one and two parameters, and goodness-of-fit tests). A working knowledge of a general purpose programming language is also required.
At the Ph.D. level, the student must complete a minimum of 90 credit hours of coursework and research. This includes the 30 credit hours indicated below (the same as the M.S. program plus the Real Analysis Course), and an additional 30 credit hours of dissertation research. In selecting the 30 credit hours of elective coursework, the student is expected to design a coherent and meaningful program of study that reflects a chosen educational focus, and meets the standards of training at the doctoral level as approved by the student’s committee. (A list of recommended courses is provided below for the student's consideration). Overall, the program of study must include a minimum of 9 credit hours of ISE courses at the 6000 level and a minor of 9-15 credit hours of courses taken outside the ISE department to complement the major thrust of the student's concentration within the O.R. option.
| Course No. | Course Title | Credit Hrs. |
|---|---|---|
| ISE 5405 | Optimization I | 3 |
| ISE 5406 | Optimization II | 3 |
| ISE 5414 | Random Processes | 3 |
| ISE 5424 | Simulation | 3 |
| Math 4226 or Math 5226 | Real Analysis | 3 |
| STAT 5104 | Probability & distribution theory | 3 |
| STAT 5114 | Statistical inference | 3 |
| Course No. | Course Title | Credit Hrs. |
|---|---|---|
| ISE 6404 | Graph Theory and Network Flows | 3 |
| ISE 6414 | Integer Programming | 3 |
| ISE 6424 | Dynamic Programming | 3 |
| ISE 6434 | Scheduling and Sequence Theory | 3 |
| ISE 6444 | Inventory and Operations Management | 3 |
| ISE 6454 | Adv Topics in Supply Chain & Operations Mgmt | 3 |
| ISE 6464 | Queueing Networks | 3 |
| ISE 6474 | Reliability Theory | 3 |
| ISE 6494 | Advanced Simulation | 3 |
| ISE 6504 | Markov Renewal and Related Processes | 3 |
| ISE 6514 | Advanced Topics in Math Programming | 3 |
| Course No. | Course Title | Credit Hrs. |
|---|---|---|
| ISE 5204 | Manufacturing Systems Engineering | 3 |
| ISE 5424 | Simulation | 3 |
| ISE 5434 | Economic Evaluation of Industrial Projects | 3 |
| ISE 5464 | Queueing Theory | 3 |
| ISE 5484 | Modeling Processes in Operations Research | 3 |
| ISE 6524 | Advanced Topics in Engineering Economy | 3 |
| ISE 5234 | Manufacturing Costs and Production Economics | 3 |
| ISE 5244 | Facilities Planning and Material Handling | 3 |
| ISE 5454 | Production Planning and Control | 3 |
| ISE 5474 | Statistical Theory of Quality Control | 3 |
| Course No. | Course Title | Credit Hrs. |
|---|---|---|
| CS/Math 5485 | Numerical Analysis and Software I | 3 |
| Math 5454 | Graph Theory | 3 |
| Math 5524 | Matrix Theory | 3 |
| Math 5545 | Calculus of Variations and Optimal Control Theory I | 3 |
| Stat 5504 | Multivariate Statistical Methods | 3 |
| Stat 5514 | Regression Analysis | 3 |
| Stat 5554 | Variance Components | 3 |
| Stat 5574 | Response Surface Design and Analysis I | 3 |
| Stat 6504 | Experimental Design II | 3 |
| Course No. | Course Title | Credit Hrs. |
|---|---|---|
| CS 5114 | Theory of Algorithms | 3 |
| CS/Math 5486 | Numerical Analysis and Software II | 3 |
| MATH 4226 | Elementary Real Analysis II | 3 |
| MATH 5226 | Real Analysis II | 3 |
| MATH 5464 | Combinatorics | 3 |
| MATH 5546 | Calculus of Variations and Optimal Control Theory II | 3 |
| BIT 5414 | Operations Management Problems and Techniques | 3 |
| BIT 5434 | Computer Simulation in Business | 3 |
| BIT 6404 | Corporate Simulation Methods | 3 |
| STAT 5124 | Linear Models Theory | 3 |
| STAT 5204 | Experimental Design & Analysis I | 3 |
| STAT 5424 | Statistical Decision Theory | 3 |
| STAT 5434 | Markov Chains & Renewal Theory | 3 |
| STAT 6106 | Measure and Probability | 3 |
| STAT 6424 | Multivariate Statistical Analysis | 3 |
| STAT 6574 | Response Surface Design and Analysis II | 3 |
