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UID:2026072205171020250311T11000020250311T1200006a60fb160329c@uic.edu
CATEGORIES:MEETING
STATUS:TENTATIVE
DTSTAMP:20250228T115019
DTSTART:20250311T110000
DTEND:20250311T120000
SUMMARY:Underground Freight Transportation for Freight Delivery in Urban Environment
DESCRIPTION:Presenter: Ann Melissa Campbell, PhD, University of Iowa  Location: ERF Room 1047 and Zoom  Meeting ID: 535 718 1241  Passcode: Lin@842cme    Abstract: The use of underground freight transportation (UFT) is gaining attention because of its ability to quickly move freight to locations in urban areas while reducing road traffic and the need for delivery drivers. Since packages are transported through the tunnels by electric motors, the use of tunnels is also environmentally friendly. We examine the use of tunnels to transport individual orders, motivated by the last mile delivery of goods from e-commerce providers. The use of UFT for last mile delivery requires more complex network planning than for direct lines that have previously been considered for networks connecting large cities. We introduce a new network design problem based on this delivery model and transform the problem into a fixed charge multicommodity flow problem with additional constraints. We show that this problem, the B-UFT, is NP-hard, and provide an exact solution method for solving large-scale instances. Our solution approach exploits the combinatorial sub-structures of the problem in a cutting planes fashion. We provide computational results for real urban environments to build a set of insights into the structure of such networks and evaluate the benefits of such systems. We estimate the costs for implementing UFT systems and break them down into a per package cost. Our estimates indicate at least a 40% cost savings from using a UFT over traditional delivery models. This indicates that UFT systems for last mile delivery are a promising area for future research.  We conclude with a discussion of the many future research opportunities.    Speaker Bio: Ann Melissa Campbell is?the Clement T. and Sylvia H. Hanson Family Chair in Manufacturing Productivity?in the Department of Business Analytics at the Henry B. Tippie College of Business.? Her?research focuses?on freight transportation,?especially on problems related to new and emerging business models, as well as the logistics of disaster preparation and relief.? She?is a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award and serves?as?an Area?Editor for Transportation Science.? As department chair, she led the department?s efforts to win the 2021 INFORMS UPS George D. Smith Prize for excellence in analytics education.??Since 2022, she has chaired the annual FutureBAProf workshop focused on educating PhD students and postdocs about academic careers in business schools. | Event post: https://cme.uic.edu/events?page_id=5129
LOCATION:https://uic.zoom.us/j/5357181241?pwd=VHQ5dE53eG5DWmREYXZ4ekRJQXZJUT09
CLASS:PRIVATE
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