2013 INFORMS Annual Meeting Minneapolis
Plenaries and Keynotes
IFORS Distinguished Lecture
Presented by Pascal Van Hentenryck, University of Melbourne and National ICT Australia
The frequency and intensity of natural disasters has significantly increased over the past decades, and this trend is predicted to continue. Natural disasters have dramatic impacts on human lives and on the socio-economic welfare of entire regions. They are identified as one of the major risks of the East Asia and Pacific regions. Dramatic events such as Hurricane Katrina and the Tohoku tsunami have also highlighted the need for OR/MS tools in preparing, mitigating, responding and recovering from disasters. Van Hentenryck presents an overview of some recent progress in using OR/MS for disaster management and, in particular, in relief distribution, power system restoration, and evacuation planning and scheduling.