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Computational Operations Research (COR)

Operations Research models real world systems and analyzes their behavior using a variety of mathematical and computational techniques. Although the origins of operations research stem from a study of military operations conducted during World War II, the scope of operations research today encompasses a variety of problems in business, engineering, and economics, as well as the social and physical sciences. Career opportunities in operations research are found in industry, in government and at academic institutions. Sample applications include airline crew scheduling, actuator placement in flexible space structures, allocation of spare parts, job shop scheduling, reliability and performance analysis.

Recognizing the important overlap between computer science and operations research, the College redesigned its operations research curriculum in 1999 to offer a M.S. with a specialization in Computational Operations Research (COR) administered by the Computer Science Department in cooperation with the Department of Mathematics. Qualified students may elect to continue graduate work in operations research leading to a Ph.D. in either the Computer Science Department (with a computational emphasis) or the Applied Science Department (with an applied mathematics and modeling emphasis). These opportunities are facilitated by the participation of the departments of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Applied Science in the Computational Science Cluster, a federation of departments and schools at William & Mary committed to fostering research and education in computational science.

A wide range of courses are taught by COR faculty in the Department of Mathematics and the Department of Computer Science. Course offerings include linear programming, discrete optimization, nonlinear programming, deterministic and stochastic models, statistical decision theory, reliability, analysis of algorithms, discrete-event simulation, simulation languages, and a full range of computer science courses. Qualified students can normally fulfill the M.S. requirements in three semesters. The small size of graduate classes permits close faculty-student interaction.

Online application information can be found at Apply! For information concerning applications, contact Vanessa Godwin at e-mail: cor@cs.wm.edu, (phone) 757-221-3455, or (fax) 757-221-1717. For information concerning Computational Operations Research, contact Professor Rex K. Kincaid at e-mail: rrkinc@math.wm.edu, (phone) 757-221-2038, or (fax) 757-221-2988 or any of the faculty members listed below.

Computational Operations Research Faculty

Philip deCamp (Adjunct Professor, Ph.D., Georgia Tech. Experimental design, regression)
Tanujit Dey (Assistant Professor, Ph.D., Case Western Reserve, Bayesian statistics, data mining, ensembles, high dimensional variable and model selection, survival analysis.)
Ross Iaci (Assistant Professor, Ph.D., University of Georgia. Multivariate association, computational statistics, dimension reduction)
Peter Kemper (Associate Professor, Ph.D., Modeling, Simulation and Optimization of Discrete Event Systems, Stochastic Models for Performance and Dependability Analysis)
Rex Kincaid (Professor, Ph.D., Purdue University. Discrete optimization and heuristic search, network location theory)
Larry Leemis (Professor, Ph.D., Purdue University. Reliability theory, simulation)
Michael Lewis (Associate Professor, Ph.D., Rice University. Optimization)
Weizhen Mao (Associate Professor, Ph.D., Princeton. Design and analysis of algorithms, combinatorial optimization)
David Phillips (Assistant Professor, Ph.D., Columbia University. Optimization)
Margo Schaefer (Professor Emerita, Ph.D., Northwestern University. Inventory theory, maintenance and reliability models)
Virginia Torczon (Associate Professor, Ph.D., Rice University. Linear and nonlinear programming, parallel computation)

Computational Operations Research (COR) Graduate Students (office phone: 757-221-2044)

COR Graduate Students Continuing for a PhD in Computer Science

Steve Mains
Jinqing "Andy" Yu
Ruth Sykes
Eddy Zhang (Best Paper Award, International Conference on Quantitative Evaluations of Systems, 2008)

COR Graduate Students Continuing for a PhD in Applied Science

COR Graduate Students Completing the PhD

Sample course offerings ( COR course descriptions )

Math 501: Probability
Math 524: Introduction to Operations Research II
Math 552: Mathematical Statistics
Csci 526: Simulation
Csci 608: Decision Theory
Csci 618: Models and Applications in OR
Csci 628: Linear Programming
Csci 638: Nonlinear Programming
Csci 648: Network Optimization
Csci 653: Analysis of Algorithms
Csci 658: Discrete Optimization
Csci 668: Reliability
Csci 678: Statistical Analysis of Simulation Models
Csci 688: Topics in Computational Operations Research
Csci 698: Simulation and Modeling Project in Computational Operations Research
Csci 708: Research Project in Computational Operations Research
Csci 616: Stochastic Models in Computer Science

Topics classes that have been offered in the past include statistical computing, regression, design of experiments, facility location theory, computational probability, bootstrapping, scale-free networks, stochastic optimization, and knowledge discovery.

Employers of recent graduates

American Airlines,
Amtrack,
Atlas Solutions,
Bank One,
Blue Cross and Blue Shield,
Boeing,
Booz, Allen & Hamilton
Capital One,
CarMax,
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA),
Circuit City
Daniel Wagner and Associates,
Defense Intelligence Agency,
Duke Power and Light
Federal Data Corporation,
Federal Express,
Federal Reserve Bank,
Fidelity Investments,
Florida State University,
Ft. Eustis Transportation Center,
Ft. Lee,
Ft. Monroe
Hougton Mifflin Publishing
Incogen,
Institute for Defense Analysis,
Intelix,
Intelligence Community Cost Analysis Improvement Group,
Internal Revenue Service, International Business Machines (IBM),
International Research Institute (INRI)
Joint Warfare Analysis Center
Langley Air Force Base,
Lehigh University,
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company
Marriott,
MicroAnalytics,
MITRE Corporation
NASA,
Naval Center for Cost Analysis,
NAVSEA Dahlgren Base,
Northrop Grumman Information Technology TASC
Price Systems
Raytheon,
Reliable Software Technologies,
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology,
Royal Caribbean
Sabre Technologies,
SAS Institute,
Scitor,
Signet Bank,
Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC),
Systems Planning and Analysis (SPA)
Tarter Econometric Consulting,
Thomas S. Wootton High School (Maryland)
University of North Carolina,
University of Richmond,
Unisys Corporation,
United States Army,
United States Census Bureau,
United States Air Force ,
United States Coast Guard,
United States Coast Guard Academy (Office of Institutional Research),
United States Navy,
United States Postal Service,
United States Senate
Virginia Commonwealth University,
Virginia Power
West Point (United States Military Academy),
Wells Fargo
Yellow Freight

Facilities

The Earl Gregg Swem Library contains over 3.5 million cataloged volumes, microforms, government documents, manuscripts and maps for scholarly research and study. The Library maintains an up-to-date collection of periodicals and books in the mathematical and computing sciences.

The Computer Science department maintains a network of Linux workstations to support the research, curriculum, and publishing needs of faculty and graduate students. The available software includes the discrete-event simulation language Arena, the mathematical programming language CPLEX, the text processing languages TeX & LaTeX, the computer algebra system Maple, the FireFox web browser, and the statistical package S-Plus. The standard suite of gnu tools (xfig, emacs, gvim, mail, etc.) are also available on the mathematics network. This local network is connected to the Internet.

Sample Curriculum

The following sample curriculum indicates one sequence of courses that can be taken to fulfill the M.S. degree requirements.

Fall Semester I
Csci 526 Simulation
Csci 618 Models and Applications in Operations Research
Csci 628 Linear Programming

Spring Semester I
Csci 668 Reliability
Csci 638 Discrete Optimization
Math 524 Stochastic Models in OR

Fall Semester II
Csci 688 Topics in Operations Research
Csci 658 Network Optimization
Csci 698 Simulation and Modeling Project in Computational Operations Research

Spring Semester II
Csci 678 Statistical Analysis of Simulation Models
Csci 648 Nonlinear Optimization
Csci 708 Research Project

A variety of elective courses exist at the College that may be substituted in the above sample curriculum. All plans of study are subject to the approval of a student's graduate committee.

Admission and Financial Aid

Applications for admission can be obtained by writing or calling the Department of Computer Science, The College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795, 757-221-3455. Completed applications should be sent to the Dean of Graduate Studies, together with a non-refundable application fee of $45. Applicants should possess a reasonable mathematical background, including calculus, linear algebra, and probability though they need not have obtained an undergraduate degree in mathematics. Applicants should have completed at least one course in a high-level programming language and are encouraged to have completed additional computer science courses such as data structures and algorithms. Applicants are required to take the Graduate Record Examination and have their scores sent to The College. Applicants for whom English is not their primary language are required to take the TOEFL examination.

Several Graduate Assistantships and Graduate Fellowships are awarded to qualified applicants on a competitive basis. The duties required of the recipient of these assistantships may include teaching calculus laboratory sections, tutoring, course grading, or research activities. Certain types of financial aid qualify students for in-state tuition fees. Applications for fall matriculation that request financial assistance should be received by March 1 of that year. Decisions for funding are made in early April. The College offers a limited number of spaces in graduate student housing. There are several off-campus apartment complexes located within easy reach of the campus.

About Operations Research

The discipline of operations research is distinguished by its emphasis on modeling real world systems and analyzing their behavior using a variety of mathematical and computational techniques. Although the origins of operations research stem from research into military operations conducted during World War II, the scope of operations research today encompasses a variety of problems in business, engineering, and economics, as well as the social and physical sciences. Career opportunities in operations research are found in industry, in government and at academic institutions. Sample applications include airline crew scheduling, actuator placement in flexible space structures, allocation of spare parts, job shop scheduling, reliability and performance analysis.

About the Area

The College of William & Mary, established by royal charter in 1693, is the second oldest university in the United States and is the site of the founding of Phi Beta Kappa. There are more than 5,000 undergraduates and 2,000 graduate students presently enrolled in The College.

Williamsburg is located 150 miles south of Washington, D.C. It is within an hour's drive of Richmond, Norfolk, and Virginia Beach. The campus is spread over approximately 1,200 acres and includes Lake Matoaka and extensive wooded areas. The Old Campus contains three restored pre-Revolutionary buildings, including the Wren Building (dating from 1695 and the oldest academic building in America). The New Campus incorporates a number of recently constructed facilities, including a new recreational sports building.

To apply:

Apply!

Misc. Pages

INFORMS --Institute For Operations Research and Management Sciences

Operations Research -- The Science of "Better"

Operations Research Case Studies -- from INFORMS

Article in the Boston Globe on Operations Research

Operations Research International home page

William and Mary home page

William and Mary Computer Science Department home page

William and Mary Mathematics Department home page

Office of Graduate Studies and Research home page William and Mary campus map (Jones Hall is building number 43)