2008-2009 Bulletin – PDF - SEAS Bulletin - Columbia University

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Current Research Activities
In industrial engineering, research is
conducted in the area of logistics, routing,
scheduling, production and supply
chain management, inventory control,
revenue management, and quality control.
In operations research, new developments
are being explored in mathematical
programming, combinatorial optimization,
stochastic modeling, computational
and mathematical finance, queueing
theory, reliability, simulation, and both
deterministic and stochastic network
flows.
In engineering and management systems,
research is conducted in the
areas of logistics, supply chain optimization,
and revenue and risk management.
In financial engineering, research is
being carried out in portfolio management;
option pricing, including exotic
and real options; computational finance,
such as Monte Carlo simulation and
numerical methods; as well as data
mining and risk management.
Projects are sponsored and supported
by leading private firms and government
agencies. In addition, our students and
faculty are involved in the work of two
research and educational centers: the
Center for Applied Probability (CAP) and
the Computational and Optimization
Research Center (CORC). Both of these
centers are supported principally by grants
from the National Science Foundation.
CAP is a cooperative center involving
the School of Engineering and Applied
Science, several departments in the
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences,
and the Graduate School of Business.
Its interests are in four applied areas:
mathematical and computational finance,
stochastic networks, logistics and distribution,
and population dynamics.
Computational Optimization
Research Center (CORC) at Columbia
University is an interdisciplinary group of
researchers from a variety of departments
on the Columbia campus. Its permanent
members are Professors Daniel
Bienstock, Don Goldfarb, Garud Iyengar,
Jay Sethuraman, and Cliff Stein, from
the Indstrial Engineering and Operations
Research Department, and Professor
David Bayer, from the Department of
Mathematics at Barnard College.
Researchers at CORC specialize in the
design and implementation of state-ofthe-art
algorithms for the solution of
large-scale optimization problems arising
from a wide variety of industrial and
commercial applications.
UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS
Industrial Engineering
The undergraduate program is designed
to develop the technical skills and intellectual
discipline needed by our graduates
to become leaders in industrial
engineering and related professions.
The program is distinctive in its
emphasis on quantitative, economic,
computer-aided approaches to production
and service management problems.
It is focused on providing an experimental
and mathematical problem-formulating
and problem-solving framework for
industrial engineering work. The curriculum
provides a broad foundation in the
current ideas, models, and methods of
industrial engineering. It also includes a
substantial component in the humanities
and social sciences to help students
understand the societal implications of
their work.
The industrial engineering program
objectives are:
1. to provide students with the requisite
analytical and computational skills to
assess practical situations and academic
problems, formulate models of
the problems represented or embedded
therein, design potential solutions,
and evaluate their impact;
2. to prepare students for the workplace
by fostering their ability to participate
in teams, understand and practice
interpersonal and organizational
behaviors, and communicate their
solutions and recommendations
effectively through written, oral, and
electronic presentations;
3. to familiarize students with the historical
development of industrial engineering
tools and techniques and
with the contemporary state of the
art, and
to instill the need for lifelong learning
within their profession;
4. to instill in our students an understanding
of ethical issues and professional
and managerial responsibilities.
The program in industrial engineering
leading to the B.S. degree is accredited
by the Engineering Accreditation
Commission of the Accreditation Board
for Engineering and Technology (ABET).
SEAS 2008–2009