[Iefac.list] INFORMS Rail Applications Section (RAS) Problem Solving Competition and Student Research Paper Contest

[Sandra D. Eksioglu]

Dear Friends,

 (Apologies for cross-postings)

 RAS (Rail Applications Section), a subdivision of INFORMS (Institute  for Operations Research and Management Sciences) is sponsoring two great
 events:

 (1) a problem-solving competition with a total cash award of US$ 3750:
 (2) a student research paper contest with a total cash award of US$
 1750:

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 (1) Problem-solving Competition
 Participants are asked to build a model which can be used to identify  the operating capacity of a railroad yard. The operating capacity of a  yard is defined with respect to the number of railcars processed within  a time period given the physical capacity of the yard. Rail yards play  an important role in railroad operations. Being able to accurately  identify the capacity of a rail yard and corresponding bottlenecks can  help railroads to make smarter investment decisions which result in  increased capacity and improvements in service levels; or to make  smarter operating plans which result in better use of the existing  physical capacity.

 Several techniques can be used to model the operations of a yard in  order to identify its operating capacity. Participants are encouraged to  use simulation models, optimization models, and combinations of the two. 
 Some of the criteria which will be used to evaluate models proposed and  corresponding solutions are: the novelty of the model proposed, the  quality of the solution provided, the solution approach used, and the  corresponding computational time.

 Thanks to our sponsors, BNSF Railway Company, CSX Transportation and  Norfolk Southern Corporation, the following prizes are offered this  year.
 First Prize: $2000
 Second Prize: $1000
 Third Prize: $750

 Apart from the cash prizes, the first prize winner’s contribution will  also be considered for publication in Networks. The paper still needs to  go through the journal’s  normal refereeing procedure; however, the paper will receive an  expedited refereeing and publication process.

 Please visit the competition web site for complete problem details:

 http://www.informs.org/Community/RAS/Problem-Solving-Competition

 June 7,2013 - Last date to register

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 (2) Student Research Paper Contest
 Apart from the cash prize, the First Place paper will be considered for  publication in Networks. The paper still needs to go through the  journal’s normal refereeing procedure; however, the paper will receive  an expedited refereeing and publication process. To be eligible,  *the paper must be written by a student or students enrolled in an  academic institution during the 2012-2013 academic year,
 * the paper must advance the application or theory of OR/MS for  improvement of freight or passenger railway transportation, and
 * the paper must represent original research (not literature reviews)  and not have been published elsewhere by the time it is submitted.

 For the complete list of rules visit
 http://www.informs.org/Community/RAS/Student-Paper-Award

 How to Enter Submit an abstract of your proposed paper by May 18, 2013.
 The completed paper, and an extended abstract to be published in the  RAS web-site, should be submitted by July 6, 2013.
 Electronic submissions are required. Submit abstracts and paper to:
 Dr. Juan C. Morales, BNSF Railway - email: Juan.Morales at BNSF.com

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 Xuesong Zhou
 University of Utah
 RAS Public Relations Officer