Mathematics for Operations Research/Management Science/Industrial Engineering
- Overview
Operations research (OR) is a scientific approach that provides a quantitative basis for decision making.
Operations research as we know it today is largely a product of military research during World War II that sought the best ways to allocate scarce resources. This includes questions such as, "How should patrol aircraft be deployed to maximize the expected number of enemy submarines found within the limited search hours?" and "How should the limited spare parts inventory be allocated between the field, advance warehouses, and distribution warehouses to minimize equipment downtime due to spare parts shortages?" At the end of the war, most operations research researchers went to industry, similar questions about budgeting, planning, marketing, decision-making, and other aspects of management need answers.
- Mathematics and Operations Research/Management Science
The main mathematical tools of OR are vector calculus, linear algebra, differential and difference equations, probability, statistics, and computer programming. Other topics of particular relevance to the field include number theory, abstract algebra, graph theory, and combinatorics.
- Mathematics and Industrial Engineering
Please refer to CRC Press: Mathematics and Industrial Engineering for reference.
[More to come ...]