CASTLE Laboratory - CASTLE Lab - Princeton University
CASTLE Laboratory - CASTLE Lab - Princeton University
CASTLE Laboratory - CASTLE Lab - Princeton University
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<strong>CASTLE</strong> <strong><strong>Lab</strong>oratory</strong><br />
Overview of research and funding model<br />
© 2006 Warren B. Powell, <strong>Princeton</strong> <strong>University</strong><br />
June, 2006<br />
Warren Powell<br />
<strong>CASTLE</strong> <strong><strong>Lab</strong>oratory</strong><br />
<strong>Princeton</strong> <strong>University</strong><br />
http://www.castlelab.princeton.edu
Maintenance<br />
Ramp Space<br />
Air Mobility Command<br />
Cargo Holding<br />
Air<br />
Mobility<br />
Command<br />
Fuel<br />
Cargo Handling
The fractional jet ownership industry
© NetJets Inc.
Schneider National
Yellow Freight System
Yellow Freight System<br />
© 2004 Warren B. Powell, <strong>Princeton</strong> <strong>University</strong>
“But “But the the crown jewel of of<br />
[CEO] Zollars’ and and [CIO]<br />
Caddell’s technology<br />
overhaul has has been been SYSNET,<br />
a state-of-the-art computer<br />
system designed jointly by by<br />
Yellow and and <strong>CASTLE</strong> <strong>Lab</strong>…<br />
at at <strong>Princeton</strong> <strong>University</strong>.”
© NetJets Inc.
Schneider National
Revenue per WU<br />
Model calibration<br />
1400<br />
1200<br />
1000<br />
800<br />
600<br />
400<br />
200<br />
0<br />
US_SOLO US_IC<br />
Capacity category<br />
US_TEAM<br />
Revenue per WU<br />
Historical maximum<br />
Simulation<br />
Historical minimum<br />
Utilization<br />
1200<br />
1000<br />
800<br />
600<br />
400<br />
200<br />
0<br />
Calibrated Historical min model<br />
and max<br />
US_SOLO US_IC<br />
Capacity category<br />
US_TEAM<br />
Utilization<br />
Historical maximum<br />
Simulation<br />
Historical minimum
Driver fleet optimization<br />
1900000<br />
1890000<br />
1880000<br />
1870000<br />
1860000<br />
1850000<br />
1840000<br />
1830000<br />
1820000<br />
1810000<br />
1800000<br />
simulation objective function<br />
580 590 600 610 620 630 640 650<br />
# of drivers<br />
s1<br />
s2<br />
s3<br />
s4<br />
s5<br />
s6<br />
s7<br />
s8<br />
s9<br />
s10<br />
avg<br />
pred
Gradients<br />
1900000<br />
1890000<br />
1880000<br />
1870000<br />
1860000<br />
1850000<br />
1840000<br />
1830000<br />
1820000<br />
1810000<br />
1800000<br />
simulation objective function<br />
580 590 600 610 620 630 640 650<br />
# of drivers<br />
s1<br />
s2<br />
s3<br />
s4<br />
s5<br />
s6<br />
s7<br />
s8<br />
s9<br />
s10<br />
avg<br />
pred
Research themes<br />
Markov decision processes<br />
(1950’s)<br />
CASLE CASLE <strong>Lab</strong> <strong>Lab</strong><br />
contribution<br />
Early ADP/NDP<br />
(1980’s – 1990’s)<br />
Stochastic approximation methods<br />
(1950’s)<br />
Machine learning<br />
Signal processing<br />
(1990’s ->)<br />
ADP for high-dimensional<br />
asset management<br />
Math programming<br />
(1950’s)
The competition<br />
200,000.00<br />
180,000.00<br />
160,000.00<br />
140,000.00<br />
120,000.00<br />
Profits<br />
100,000.00<br />
80,000.00<br />
60,000.00<br />
40,000.00<br />
20,000.00<br />
0.00<br />
Variations on Bender’s decomposition<br />
Point forecast<br />
25 50 100 250 500 1000 2500 5000<br />
Iterations
Algorithmic evaluation<br />
200,000.00<br />
180,000.00<br />
160,000.00<br />
140,000.00<br />
120,000.00<br />
Profits<br />
100,000.00<br />
80,000.00<br />
60,000.00<br />
40,000.00<br />
20,000.00<br />
0.00<br />
Approximate DP<br />
Variations on Bender’s decomposition<br />
Point forecast<br />
25 50 100 250 500 1000 2500 5000<br />
Iterations
Percent error<br />
Algorithmic evaluation<br />
40<br />
30<br />
20<br />
10<br />
0<br />
45<br />
40<br />
35<br />
30<br />
25<br />
20<br />
15<br />
10<br />
5<br />
0<br />
Percent over Percent optimal from optimal after 100 100 iterations iterations<br />
Increasing problem size<br />
SD L-shaped CUPPS SPAR<br />
Benders<br />
ADP<br />
10 locations<br />
25 locations<br />
50 locations<br />
100 locations
Research<br />
Application areas<br />
» Planning and control technologies for real-time<br />
management of complex systems<br />
• Commercial freight transportation<br />
– United Parcel Service (largest small parcel network)<br />
– Yellow/Roadway Corporation (largest less-than-truckload<br />
motor carrier)<br />
– Schneider National – (largest truckload operation)<br />
• Military operations<br />
– U.S. and Canadian Air Force<br />
• Electric power<br />
– PJM Interconnection – (largest regional transmission<br />
organization)<br />
• R&D portfolio management for energy research<br />
– Lawrence Livermore
Research<br />
Dimensions of research<br />
» Theory<br />
• Proofs of convergence of algorithms<br />
• Maximizing rate of convergence<br />
• Properties of models<br />
» <strong><strong>Lab</strong>oratory</strong> experimentation<br />
• Accelerating the speed of the algorithms<br />
• Evaluating solution quality<br />
» Field experimentation<br />
• Does it scale to real applications?<br />
• Is the modeling and algorithmic methodology robust?
Research<br />
Research highlights since 1990 (when <strong>CASTLE</strong> <strong>Lab</strong> was<br />
founded):<br />
» $10+ million in research funding<br />
» 67 journal articles accepted for publication<br />
• Operations Research, Management Science, Transportation Science,<br />
Mathematics of Operations Research, Mathematical Programming,<br />
Networks, Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications, Informs<br />
Journal on Computing, Operations Research Letters, Naval Research<br />
Logistics, European Journal of Operations Research<br />
» 4 invited book chapters for the society-sponsored series<br />
Handbooks in Operations Research and Management Science<br />
» 1 edited volume; book in preparation.<br />
» Chaired NSF workshop on Approximate Dynamic Programming<br />
and Reinforcement Learning.<br />
» Elected Fellow of Institute for Operations Research and the<br />
Management Sciences<br />
» 97 invited talks<br />
» 100+ conference presentations
Research<br />
Graduate students<br />
» 14 Ph.D.’s:<br />
• Academic positions<br />
– Cornell <strong>University</strong> (Operations Research)<br />
– <strong>University</strong> of Pennsylvania (Systems Engineering)<br />
– Iowa State (Industrial Engineering)<br />
– London School of Economics<br />
– Samford College (Dept of Mathematics)<br />
– <strong>University</strong> of Toronto (Industrial Engineering)<br />
– City <strong>University</strong> of New York (Civil Engineering)<br />
– Instituto Tecnologico de Aeronautica, Brazil<br />
• Research positions<br />
– <strong>Princeton</strong> <strong>University</strong><br />
– Lawrence Livermore<br />
– Bell <strong>Lab</strong>s<br />
– IBM Watson Research Center<br />
» 7 M.S.E.’s
Research<br />
Awards for graduate student research:<br />
» Winner, Transportation Dissertation Prize Competition, won by Tassio Carvalho,<br />
Dissertation title: “Dynamic Control of Spatial Resource Allocation Problems",<br />
1996.<br />
» Winner, George Dantzig Prize for the best dissertation in Operations Research, won<br />
by Raymond K.-L. Cheung, Dissertation title: “Dynamic Networks with Random<br />
Arc Capacities, with Application to the Stochastic Dynamic Vehicle Allocation<br />
Problem", 1994.<br />
» Honorable mention, Transportation Dissertation Prize Competition, won by<br />
Raymond K.-L. Cheung, Dissertation title: “Dynamic Networks with Random Arc<br />
Capacities, with Application to the Stochastic Dynamic Vehicle Allocation<br />
Problem", 1993.<br />
» Winner, Transportation Dissertation Prize Competition, won by Linos<br />
Frantzeskakis, Dissertation title: "Dynamic Networks with Random Arc Capacities:<br />
Solution Methods and Applications", 1990.<br />
» Honorable Mention, Transportation Dissertation Prize Competition, won by<br />
Yiannis Koskosidis, Dissertation title: "Optimization-Based Models and<br />
Algorithms for Routing and Scheduling with Time Window Constraints", 1988.<br />
» Honorable Mention, Transportation Dissertation Prize Competition, won by Hugo<br />
Simao, Dissertation title: "Numerical, Discrete Time Simulation of Transportation<br />
Queueing Networks", 1987.
Testimonials<br />
Email from Swift Transportation (largest publicly<br />
held truckload motor carrier), April 6, 2006.<br />
Craig_Littzen@swifttrans.com wrote: wrote:<br />
><br />
><br />
> Hello Hello Warren, Warren,<br />
><br />
> You You may may not not remember remember me me but but I I did did some some work work with with you you on on dynamic dynamic truckload truckload<br />
> decision decision support support systems systems in in the the early early 90's. 90's. I I [am] [am] with with Swift Swift Transportation Transportation the the<br />
> largest largest publically publicallytraded traded truck truck load load carrier carrier in in America. America.<br />
><br />
> I'm I'm looking looking for for commercially commercially available available dss dssbased based on on your your research. research. Can Can you you<br />
> direct direct me? me?<br />
><br />
> Craig Craig Littzen Littzen<br />
><br />
>
Testimonials<br />
Email from AFOSR program officer (Juan<br />
Vasquez)
“Transitions” documented on AFOSR grant:
Technology transfer<br />
Working with faculty startups<br />
» <strong>University</strong> rules limit ability to<br />
participate in enterprises which<br />
relate to our research.<br />
<strong>Princeton</strong> Transportation Consulting Group<br />
» Companies cannot fund further<br />
research at the university.<br />
» “Awkward” having staff from<br />
these companies visiting the<br />
university.<br />
» Limits our ability to continue<br />
to work with these companies<br />
to develop technologies that<br />
are not quite ready.<br />
Partner companies<br />
» <strong>Princeton</strong> Consultants (no<br />
affiliation with any <strong>Princeton</strong><br />
faculty).
Funding models<br />
1981-1989<br />
» Research model: professor working with grad students<br />
» NSF adopts policy of joint projects with industry<br />
» Funding: NSF, NSF/PYI, industrial contracts<br />
• PYI award provided for $37.5k of industry matching funds<br />
» Research areas – optimization models for freight transportation.<br />
• Planning models for less-than-truckload trucking<br />
• Operational models for real-time planning in truckload trucking<br />
• Stochastic programming for fleet management<br />
• Routing and scheduling of vehicles<br />
» Programming deliverables<br />
• WBP served as primary programmer<br />
• Some student programming
Funding models<br />
1990-2006<br />
» Research model: <strong>CASTLE</strong> <strong>Lab</strong><br />
• Technical staff to perform programming<br />
– Dr. Hugo Simao<br />
– Dr. Belgacem Bouzaiene-Ayari<br />
– Dr. Abraham George<br />
• Graduate students for fundamental research<br />
» Funding:<br />
• AFOSR ~$140k per year<br />
• Air Force Contract on Knowledge Networks (with Savas Dayanik)<br />
• Occasional NSF grant<br />
• Industrial sponsors ~$400k - ~$500k per year<br />
– United Parcel Service<br />
– Schneider National<br />
– Norfolk Southern Railroad<br />
– <strong>Princeton</strong> Consultants (Netjets)<br />
» Research focus:<br />
• Stochastic optimization models for complex operational problems
Funding<br />
National Science Foundation<br />
» 1980’s: “We do not fund research, we bless it.”<br />
» Today: funding limited to $80k per year per PI.<br />
» Steve Nash (NSF Program director): “We cannot get<br />
proposals for high impact research” (spoken at NSF<br />
workshop, April, 2006).<br />
Air Force Office of Scientific Research<br />
» Currently receiving $140k per year. Currently<br />
supporting a post-doc (Abraham George).
Research expenditures<br />
Total<br />
Expenditures (millions)<br />
2<br />
1.8<br />
1.6<br />
1.4<br />
1.2<br />
1<br />
0.8<br />
0.6<br />
0.4<br />
0.2<br />
0<br />
1999-<br />
2000<br />
Total expenditures (ORFE and <strong>CASTLE</strong> <strong>Lab</strong>)<br />
2000-<br />
2001<br />
2001-<br />
2002<br />
2002-<br />
2003<br />
Year<br />
2003-<br />
2004<br />
2004-<br />
2005<br />
2005-<br />
2006<br />
ORFE<br />
Castle <strong>Lab</strong>
Research expenditures<br />
Per faculty<br />
$ millions<br />
0.9<br />
0.8<br />
0.7<br />
0.6<br />
0.5<br />
0.4<br />
0.3<br />
0.2<br />
0.1<br />
0<br />
1999-<br />
2000<br />
2000-<br />
2001<br />
<strong>CASTLE</strong> exp. vs. ORFE exp. / faculty<br />
2001-<br />
2002<br />
2002-<br />
2003<br />
2003-<br />
2004<br />
2004-<br />
2005<br />
2005-<br />
2006<br />
Castle <strong>Lab</strong><br />
Exp/faculty
History<br />
Consulting retainers<br />
» Began in 1990 at the suggestion of department chair<br />
(Pinder)<br />
» Designed to cover:<br />
• Miscellaneous consulting requests related to the adoption of<br />
the research within the company<br />
• Noncompete/confidentiality agreements<br />
» Carefully documented on conflict of interest statements<br />
each year since 1990:<br />
• Reviewed by four different department chairs<br />
» Summarized in memo to Dean James Wei<br />
» Reviewed by Dobkin/Klawe/Cinlar/Christy in 2003.<br />
• Adjustment made to consulting payments made to Hugo and<br />
Belgacem.
Disclosures
Disclosures<br />
2003 letter from Dean Dobkin:
Disclosures<br />
Comment by colleague in chemical engineering on<br />
the topic of retainers:<br />
» “I have those with all my industrial sponsors”<br />
Remark by Dean Dobkin to Erhan Cinlar during<br />
2003 review:<br />
» “Half the faculty in engineering must have these<br />
agreements”
Disclosures<br />
Approved scope of work for UPS:<br />
Proposed scope of work for all current sponsors:
Disclosures<br />
Annual letter from DOF:<br />
» My activities have been clearly documented for 15<br />
years and reviewed by four different chairs!
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