A peek into decision making in service systems
Often due to large waiting times customers abandon shops (online or physical), and owners don't realize that they have left. We call this a loss of opportunity. This is an important concept in queueing theory.
Distributing work in a network of servers
This article discusses a fun puzzle that illustrates a beautiful open problem in this area: queueing theorists are trying to figure out how the structure of a network impacts its ability to distribute work among the nodes.
Onno Boxma receives inaugural Blackwell Prize
Onno Boxma, emeritus professor of Stochastic Operations Research at Eindhoven University of Technology, is the inaugural Blackwell Prize winner!
More roads, more traffic? Braess paradox!
The, seemingly innocent and quite natural, idea to build more roads in order to solve the traffic problem can be sometimes quite a bad idea.
Let’s make it on time without wasting time on it
What if I tell you that long queues in airports are also caused by the impatient passengers that arrive too far in advance at the airport? Today, we will analyze how the organization of the security check queue affects the waiting time of passengers.
Why you may need to reconsider your route selection criterium
You have a job interview in 20 minutes and you are in a hurry to arrive at your application in time. To make matters even more stressful, there are many routes to your destination, but you have no idea which one to select. Luckily, you have access to a navigation system that can help you in your route selection process.
Losing track of time? How to incorporate track choice in Dutch railway timetabling
Say you are living in Eindhoven and would like to spend a day in Amsterdam: what better way to get there than taking the train? Before your train departs, a whole logistic operation has taken place in the headquarters of the railway company to make this trip possible.
The crossroad of queueing theory and road traffic
Road traffic analysis is one of the topics that receives a lot of focus in the NETWORKS program. Are you courious to read what kind of questions about road traffic mathematicians try to answer? Have a look at this update.
The share bike mystery
How is it possible that bikes are so perfectly spread out that they are available from almost anywhere? Who are these bike fairies that distribute them evenly across the city? Continue reading if you like to find out who they are and what type of mathematics is involved.
Reducing ambulance response times
Sandjai Bhulai and Rob van der Mei have been working together for more than twenty years to devise mathematical solutions to a wide array of societal challenges.