ISE Seminar: Alice Smith

Details

Alice Smith, Ph.D., P.E.
Joe W. Forehand, Jr. Distinguished Professor
Auburn University

“Innovative Uses of Drones for Logistics in Production”

Abstract:
This keynote discusses novel approaches for employing drones to accomplish logistical tasks in diverse environments. Drones, working in tandem with traditional transportation vehicles and with humans, offer environmentally friendly and cost-effective alternatives for moving small items such as medicines, electronic devices, and assembly parts. This talk will cover two ongoing research projects which involve a combination of mathematical modeling, computational optimization, simulation in virtual environments, and actual physical experimentation and trials. While using drones has challenges in terms of human interaction and practicality of operating in certain environments, they are more pragmatic than might be expected for some situations. One focus is on assembly facilities where drones bring needed parts to works at their stations on the line. This setting is indoors where GPS cannot be used for drone positioning and guidance so alternative methods must be employed. The second focus is on part delivery to offshore oil rigs from mobile additive manufacturing factories. Deliveries can be done by a combination of truck and ship or by long-range drone. In this case, not only is delivery optimized but also the production schedule and any relocations of the factories.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF ALICE E. SMITH, PH.D., P.E.

Alice E. Smith’s research focus is analysis, modeling, and optimization of complex systems with emphasis on computation inspired by natural systems integrated with traditional operations research and statistical approaches. She holds one U.S. patent and several international patents and has authored publications which have garnered over 19,000 citations, an H Index of 55, and an i10 Index of 146 (Google Scholar). Several of her papers are among the most highly cited in their respective journals including the most cited paper of Reliability Engineering & System Safety, the 7th most cited paper of IEEE Transactions on Reliability, and the most cited paper of The Engineering Economist. Dr. Smith is the Editor in Chief of INFORMS Journal on Computing and an Area Editor of Computers & Operations Research.

Dr. Smith has been a principal investigator on over $12 million of sponsored research with funding by Department of Homeland Security, NASA, U.S. Department of Defense, Missile Defense Agency, National Security Agency, NIST, U.S. Department of Transportation, Frontier Technologies Inc., Lockheed Martin, Adtranz (now Bombardier Transportation), the Ben Franklin Technology Center of Western Pennsylvania, and U.S. National Science Foundation, from which she has been awarded 18 distinct grants including a CAREER grant and an ADVANCE Leadership grant. She is a four-time Fulbright Scholar with residencies in Turkey, Chile, and Colombia.

Dr. Smith is a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), a Life Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a Fellow of the Institute for Operations Research and Management Science (INFORMS), a Fellow of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE), a senior member of the Society of Women Engineers, a member of Tau Beta Pi, and a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Alabama.