Spring 2005 INEN 420: Operations Research I
Hours: 3
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course serves as an introduction to the field of Operations Research (OR). The course
will cover basic deterministic methods of operations research (linear programming, network
flows, and integer programming) and their applications to resource allocation problems in
business and industrial organizations.
Prerequisite: MATH 304 or equivalent.
INSTRUCTOR
Dr. Lewis Ntaimo
Office: 239C Zachry
Phone: 862-4066
Email: ntaimo@tamu.edu
CLASSROOM AND SCHEDULE
Zachry 301
TR 12:45 - 2:00pm
Course Website: http://ie.tamu.edu/people/faculty/Ntaimo/default.htm
OFFICE HOURS
Official office hours MR 2 - 3pm or by appointment.
Open door policy: you can come and see me at anytime to set up an appointment.
TA
Oleksii Ursulenko
Office: Zachry 226X
office hours: WF 3:00PM - 4:00PM or by appointment
TEXTBOOK
Winston, Wayne L. and M. Venkataramanan, Introduction to Mathematical
Programming, 4th Edition, Duxbury Press, Belmont, CA, 2003. ISBN 0-534-35964-7.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
The objective of the course is to give the student experience in modeling, solving and
analyzing problems using linear programming. Emphasis will be stressed on theory, applications, and computer usage. By the end of the course the student should have developed
the skills to consider real-world problems and determine whether or not linear programming
is an appropriate modeling framework; develop linear programming models that consider
the key elements of the real world problem; solve the models for their optimal solutions;
interpret the models’ solutions and infer solutions to the real-world problems.
COURSE TOPICS
Introduction to Linear Programming (Chapter 3)
The Simplex Method (Chapter 4)
Duality and Sensitivity Analysis (Chapter 6)
Transportation and Assignment Problems (Chapter 7)
Network Optimization (Chapter 8)
If time permits I will introduce:
Integer Programming (Chapter 9) and Stochastic Programming.
GRADING POLICY
Exams (3) 60 %
Bi-Weekly Quizzes 20%
Team Semester Project 20 %
A – 100 - 90 %
B – 89.9 - 80 %
C – 79.9 - 70 %
D – 69.9 - 60 %
F – < 60%
NOTE:
You will take an exam every 5 weeks and I will announce at least a week
before the exam. There may be pop-up quizzes (without warning) based on your
homework problems and/or reading assignments. If you miss an exam/quiz you
must have a written authorized excuse.
There will be emphasis on team work and therefore, students will divide into
teams of 3 for homework, group presentations and the semester project. The
semester project will involve choosing a real-world problem, modeling, solving
and analyzing the problem using linear programming. In addition, the students
will be given two additional problems to model and solve. The students will be
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introduced to state-of-the-art optimization software such as CPLEX, LINDO and
MATLAB.
Finally, cellular phones MUST be turned off or set on silence mode during
class time!
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT STATEMENT
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute
that provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities.
Among other things, this legislation requires that all students with disabilities be
guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation
of their disabilities. If you believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact the Department of Student Life, Services for Students with
Disabilities in Room 126 of the Koldus Building, or call 845-1637.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY STATEMENT
“An Aggie does not lie, cheat or steal or tolerate those who do.”
Please see Honor Council Rules and Procedures on the web at:
http://www.tamu.edu/aggiehonor.
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