Zuse Institute Berlin and FICO Collaborate to Push the Boundaries of Mathematical Optimization

How can algorithms and optimization models help companies deal more resiliently with unforeseen crises and adapt their processes to disruptive challenges? At the 4th EURO Practitioners’ Forum from 20 to 21 April in Berlin, organized by analytics software provider FICO in cooperation with the Zuse Institute Berlin, data scientists will get to the bottom of this question.

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“The lively exchange between science and business is important so that the enormous potential of mathematical optimization can be used even better. After all, whether it’s climate change, the energy transition or healthcare – optimization models can help to tackle the major challenges of our time.”

The upcoming event, titled “Operations Research as a Resilient Technology: How OR Responds and Adapts to Disruptive Changes and Future Challenges,” will feature presentations by prominent companies from diverse industries. These companies will showcase practical projects and describe how they utilized mathematical methods and optimization models to overcome complex challenges quickly and reliably.

Mathematical optimization eases pandemic chaos

During the event, one of the case studies being presented will focus on the early stages of the pandemic. Jeppesen, a subsidiary of Boeing, successfully tackled a classic optimization problem for Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden. Despite the tumultuous situation, Jeppesen’s aviation software, Jeppesen Crew Rostering, which uses FICO® Xpress Optimization, was able to generate new duty rosters for over 300 nursing staff in just one week.

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Data science research collaboration in Berlin

FICO, a prominent optimization software developer, is a strategic partner of Zuse Institute Berlin (ZIB). Four FICO employees are part of a research team that works directly at ZIB. The partnership between science and industry is made possible through the MODAL research campus, which is a public-private partnership project hosted by ZIB and Freie Universität Berlin.

The MODAL initiative, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), includes almost 40 industrial and network partners from various sectors and sizes. The project’s goal is to apply mathematical methods to optimize data-driven processes in the fields of energy, health, mobility, and communication in a more practical manner. Researchers are exploring topics such as gas network control, flight route planning, and using data from mobile apps to improve health. The close collaboration between science and industry fosters valuable synergies in research and development, promotes the development of young talent, and creates a valuable pool of talent for industry partners to train and recruit future experts in mathematical optimization and digital analytics processes.

Tackling climate change and more with optimization models

“In the innovation partnership between FICO and ZIB, academic research and practical development experience work hand in hand to drive innovation and successfully translate scientific findings into products and solutions,” said Dr. Timo Berthold, a software engineering director at FICO who specializes in optimization and has been affiliated with ZIB since 2005. Berthold is part of the FICO research team at ZIB and also teaches as a private lecturer at the Technical University of Berlin. “The lively exchange between science and business is important so that the enormous potential of mathematical optimization can be used even better. After all, whether it’s climate change, the energy transition or healthcare – optimization models can help to tackle the major challenges of our time.”

“As an interdisciplinary research institute for applied mathematics and data-intensive high-performance computing, Zuse Institute Berlin focuses on real problems from science, technology, the environment and the society. These problems are so complex that they cannot be solved using conventional methods. We appreciate the commitment of FICO as an innovative industry partner that is working with us to push the boundaries of analytics,” said Prof. Dr. Ralf Borndörfer, chair of MODAL and head of department “Network Optimization” at ZIB.

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