Official launch of LANCS Initiative in Operational Research
Published 8 June 2009
The official launch of the LANCS Initiative at The Institution of Engineering and Technology in London.
It is the job of Operational Research (OR) to develop and deploy analytical methods which will help managers and others make decisions in the midst of complexity. In this task OR typically uses scientific tools, such as mathematical and computer modelling and statistics.
Hosted by Lancaster University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Paul Wellings, the event at The Institution of Engineering and Technology was attended by 145 national and international academic guests and representatives of UK industry and government.
Green Logistics research cluster leader Professor Richard Eglese (Lancaster University Management School), (centre) with Sue Merchant (President of the Operational Research Society) and Dr Tolga Bektas (University of Southampton)
Bringing together the complementary perspectives of mathematics, computer science and management science, the central goal of the LANCS Initiative is the delivery of a significant expansion of the national research base in foundational OR.
This will be achieved by an extensive programme of academic recruitment and training and through the establishment of networks of leading-edge collaborative research, centred on the OR groups at the four universities. The Knowledge Transfer Network in Industrial Mathematics is supporting an industrial outreach strategy, ensuring that research outcomes are effectively communicated to users.
Dr Jason Atkin (University of Nottingham) demonstrating a model of runway scheduling at London Heathrow airport with (centre) Professor Linda Hendry (Lancaster University Management School), Pat O’Grady (BAA) and Andrew Beck (British Airways)
Two of the speakers at the launch, David Bishop (Head of Policy at the Airport Operators Association) and Peter Jones OBE (the Mayor of London’s appointee on the capital’s Waste and Recycling Board), described the significance of OR’s contribution to these areas of national and international importance. The third speaker, Dr Lesley Thompson (Director of the Research Base at the EPSRC), spoke powerfully of the vital need to strengthen the UK’s research base in OR.
For more information, see the LANCS Initiative website.
