Meet the people behind the Dutch OR Society
I am an Associate Professor at the Department of Information and Computing Sciences at Utrecht University and hold a joint senior position with KLM within the KickstartAI program. In my research, situated at the intersection of Operations Research and Artificial Intelligence, I strive to integrate characteristics from practical applications with state-of-the-art theoretical models. Due to my keen interest in applied Operations Research, I enthusiastically welcome the chance to assume the role of NGB chair. Establishing and fostering connections between academia, industry, and societal and governmental organizations are crucial for inspiring academic research and enhancing real-world applications. In the Netherlands, we have a strong Operations Research community. As the NGB chair, I aim to contribute to ‘keeping up the good work,’ strengthening these connections, and facilitating information exchange and discussions.
I am a senior consultant at CQM B.V, mostly working on smart warehousing and vehicle routing. The majority of my projects are on the boundary between software and operations research, with a focus on optimization and simulation. I often do projects where custom made algorithms are implemented in software and deployed at clients. I am responsible for the algorithms, as well as the quality of the software and the corresponding development process. I recognize a great need for many companies to exploit the power of Operations Research, and as part of the board of NGB I aim to spread knowledge and share experience with companies and practitioners.
I am an Assistant Professor at Eindhoven University of Technology. In my research, I study data-driven decision problems that have practical relevance using operations research techniques. Much of this research is in close collaboration with industry, where I see that the synergy between academia and industry is truly crucial for advancing research and for driving innovation. It is this conviction that led me to join the board of the NGB. In my role on the board, I am happy to play a role in facilitating and strengthening this connection, promoting and stimulating meaningful exchanges between practitioners and academics in the beautiful field of operations research.
In my professional life, I have spent time both in industry (ORTEC) and academia (CWI, University of Auckland). I enjoy connecting people from both sides, which is why I joined the board of the Dutch OR society. It is my personal goal to make our society more well known, and start new initiatives for knowledge sharing and networking. I am also an editor for the journal STAtOR. Currently, I am working at the Vrije Universiteit. My research combines health care and logistics, such as ambulance planning or pharmaceutical supply chains.
The NGB has an important role in connecting researchers to experts from industry and vice versa. As a part time researcher at Wageningen University, but mostly working as an Operations Research expert at companies, I am happy to be part of the NGB to help with these connections. The yearly NGB conference is a perfect example of this, where every year experts and researchers meet. Next to connecting the right people to work together on impactful work, I enjoy working on research/practical problems that deal with uncertainty and large scale optimization methods in practice.
I am currently working as an Analytics Consultant at ORTEC and have a background in Civil Engineering and Applied Mathematics at TU Delft. My combination of studies show my passion in the area where logistics and mathematics meet. Within ORTEC I’m working within the Transport and logistic team, this fits very well with my interests. At ORTEC we deliver OR both in software products and consultancy studies, our goal is to improve the world using our passion for mathematics. ORTEC wants to be at the forefront of applying developments in the field of OR. Hence, the connection with academia is of great importance.
Being part of the board of the NGB gives me the chance to share my enthusiasm for Operations Research with practitioners and researchers. Currently, I am a PhD candidate at the Vrije Universiteit, working on supply chain allocation and coordination problems. Before starting my PhD, I worked as a researcher at Netherlands Railways (Nederlandse Spoorwegen, NS). I enjoy using Operations Research techniques to try solving practical problems and am happy to organize events where industry and academia come together.
Erik is associate professor at the University of Amsterdam.