Research areas.
I am looking for talented Ph.D. students to work on a variety of projects related to the following main research areas:
•
Hydropower reservoir network management.
The efficient management of reservoir water levels plays a prominent
role in the production of hydroelectric power. One of the major
objectives is to avoid unproductive water spills. In conditions of
climatic changes and related increase of precipitation and temperature
variability, a long-term water level management becomes extremely
important to avoid water spills. However, due to the intrinsic complex
dynamic of reservoir networks, together with data uncertainty and
long-term planning horizon, such a planning activity is extremely
challenging.
• Semi-flexible Transit Systems (STSs).
STSs are a family of transit services particularly suited to medium/low
demand zones and periods providing demand-responsive service within the
framework of regularly-scheduled transit. A STS operates along a basic
path made up of compulsory stops according to a fixed, predetermined
timetable, similar to traditional transit. Part of the STS service,
however, is flexible, responding to user service requests at optional
locations. In addition, STSs inject flexibility into operations by
allocating additional time for the vehicle to deviate from the basic
path and operate in demand-responsive mode. STS services received
increasing interest in the last years and are now adopted by more than
40% of North American transit operators. STSs, combining
characteristics of traditional and on-demand systems, require both a
service-design phase, as well as adjustments of vehicle routes and
schedules at operational level to accommodate users’ requests.
• Electric vehicle routing under uncertainty.
Battery-equipped Electric Vehicles (BEVs) are vehicles powered by a
pure electric engine and a battery. Although BEVs are considered to
have a higher potential to reduce GHG emissions (with respect to hybrid
models), they present two main drawbacks de facto preventing their
penetration in the vehicle market: a) the in-vehicle battery generally
allows a limited driving range and b) the battery recharging
infrastructure is currently too sparse and unevenly distributed. The
consequent range anxiety felt by potential drivers represents one of
the major obstacles to a larger diffusion of BEVs. This project aims to
reduce the impact of the BEV limited driving range by efficiently
planning battery-recharging operations along vehicle routes. This is
done by studying several variants of the well-known Vehicle Routing
Problem: the Electric Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows
(EVRPTW).
Requirements.
Within each area, several projects can be chosen according to the
student’s inclinations. However, candidates for all projects must
fulfil the following basic requirements:
• Hold an excellent master’s degree in operations
research, applied mathematics, computer science or related fields,
• Advanced skills in computer programming (C and C++) and good knowledge of linux/unix environments,
• Comprehensive knowledge of combinatorial
optimization techniques (linear programming, integer programming,
dynamic programming, etc.),
• Be fluent in English. Having a basic knowledge of French is advantageous, but not necessary.
How to apply.
Interested candidate should send by email an application package including the following documents:
• A motivation letter of 1/2 pages
• A Curriculum vitae
• A copy of your Master’s thesis
• The names and addresses of two references (one of them must be the Master’s thesis supervisor)
• A complete list of courses attended at Bachelor and Master’s level, together with grades
Where you will work.
I’m professor at Civil Engineering department of École de technologie
supérieure de Montréal, a fast-growing engineering school located at
the heart of the city of Montréal. I also am member of the CIRRELT and
GERAD, two among the leading centres in Operations Research on the
international level. As student under my supervision, you will have
access to their state-of-the-art computing facilities, as well as to an
amazing scientific community. Co-supervisions with other members of
CIRRELT/GERAD are possible.
Last, but not least, Montréal is one of the best cities where to live in North America.