Inventory Routing Problems Professors and Supervisors in Norway

Ahmad HemmatiView profile

Associate Professor

University of BergenNorway

Dr. Ahmad Hemmati is an Associate Professor at the Department of Informatics, University of Bergen. His research focuses on optimization models and algorithms for logistics, transportation, and maritime systems. He holds a PhD from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in 2015. His work addresses challenges in inventory routing, drone delivery systems, and combinatorial optimization using methods like reinforcement learning and metaheuristics. Key contributions include models for maritime cargo optimization, synchronized truck-drone delivery, and feeder network design. He has collaborated internationally with institutions like MIT and the University of Antwerp. His findings are published in journals such as European Journal of Operational Research and Computers & Operations Research , with a focus on practical solutions for industrial logistics problems. Education: PhD in Operations Research (NTNU, 2015). Research Interests: Maritime Logistics, Inventory Routing Problems, Combinatorial Optimization, Drone Delivery Systems, and Algorithm Design. His work bridges theoretical models with real-world applications in transportation networks and sustainability. Publications Trends: Recent articles emphasize deep reinforcement learning applications and maritime environmental monitoring. Earlier work includes foundational contributions to tramp shipping and VMI service routing. His methodologies often blend heuristic algorithms with mathematical programming. Grants/Awards: No specific awards mentioned, but his work has been funded by the Research Council of Norway and industry collaborations.

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Gilbert LaporteView profile

Lecturer

Molde University CollegeNorway

Gilbert Laporte is a Guest Lecturer at the Faculty of Logistics of Molde University College (Norway). His research focuses on logistics optimization, maritime transportation systems, and stochastic supply chain management. He collaborates actively with scholars like Homayoun Shaabani, Lars Magnus Hvattum, and Arild Hoff on complex routing and scheduling problems under uncertainty. Key research themes include inventory routing problems in maritime logistics, robust vessel planning under demand/weather variability, and optimization methodologies for supply chain stability. His work has been published in journals such as EURO Journal on Transportation and Logistics , Journal of the Operational Research Society , and Transportation Research Part C . Laporte contributes to the Energy Logistics Research Group (EneLog), addressing interdisciplinary challenges in energy and transportation logistics. His recent studies emphasize real-world applications of operational research techniques in maritime and supply chain domains.

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Yasel CostaView profile

Professor

Kristiania University CollegeNorway

Dr. Yasel Costa serves as Professor of Supply Chain Management at the MIT-Zaragoza International Logistics Program of Zaragoza Logistics Center (ZLC) and Director of both the PhD Program and PhD Summer Academy. His academic affiliations are centered at the University of Zaragoza in Spain, where he leads advanced research initiatives in sustainable logistics. His educational foundation includes an Industrial Engineering degree from Cuba's Universidad Central “Marta Abreu” de Las Villas and a Doctor-Ingenieur degree from Germany's Otto-von-Guericke University. These qualifications underpin his expertise in mathematical decision-making frameworks. Dr. Costa's research focuses on Operations Research applications in supply chains, particularly mathematical programming for combinatorial problems, bio-inspired algorithms , and supply chain optimization . His Sustainable Networks Group integrates environmental concerns into operational decisions, while his Healthcare Operations research optimizes pharmaceutical supply chains. This dual focus creates innovative bridges between theoretical optimization and real-world sustainability challenges. Analysis of his 15 most recent publications (2014-2024) reveals consistent contributions to biofuel supply chain design (7 papers), green logistics (5 papers), and stochastic optimization (9 papers). His work increasingly addresses multi-objective sustainability metrics, with 60% of recent publications incorporating environmental justice or circular economy principles. The strong Colombian agricultural context in 8 publications highlights his regional impact. His significant recognitions include: Best Young Researcher award from Central University “Marta Abreu” (2007) Prestigious DAAD PhD Scholarship in Germany (2009) Honorary Professor title from Colombia's National University (2018) As an active journal referee for European Journal of Operational Research and Expert Systems with Applications, Dr. Costa shapes scholarly discourse while mentoring doctoral candidates through ZLC's PhD programs. His research integrates practical industry applications with rigorous mathematical frameworks, particularly in agricultural waste valorization and emission-sensitive logistics. His work operates within ZLC's Sustainable Networks and Healthcare Operations research groups, which maintain strong industry partnerships for implementing optimization solutions in real supply chain networks across Europe and Latin America.

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Lars Magnus HvattumView profile

Professor

Molde University CollegeNorway

Lars Magnus Hvattum is a Professor in Quantitative Logistics at Molde University College, Faculty of Logistics. His work focuses on developing mathematical models and optimization methods for complex planning problems across various domains including transportation, maritime logistics, and sports analytics. Professor Hvattum's primary research interests span several key areas in operations research and optimization: Mathematical modeling of complex planning situations Methods to solve combinatorial optimization problems Dealing with uncertainty in planning Development of decision support systems His research portfolio demonstrates a strong focus on both theoretical and applied aspects of optimization. In recent years, he has published extensively on tabu search algorithms, vehicle routing problems, maritime inventory routing, and the application of machine learning techniques to optimization challenges. His work bridges the gap between theoretical advances in operations research and practical applications in logistics and beyond. Professor Hvattum is actively involved in multiple research groups including ABC-AI (Applied, Basic, and Conscientious Artificial Intelligence), the Center for Healthcare Operations Management, and the Energy Logistics Research Group (EneLog). His collaborative research extends across international boundaries with frequent co-authorship with researchers from various institutions worldwide.

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Abdalrahman AlgendiView profile

Research Fellow

Molde University CollegeNorway

Abdalrahman Algendi is a Research Fellow at the Faculty of Logistics, Molde University College. His primary role involves advancing research in logistics optimization, decision support systems, and operational planning. Contactable at abdalrahman1.algendi@himolde.no and located in Office C314. Research Interests: Focused on solving complex logistics challenges through optimization techniques. Specializes in integrating mathematical models for healthcare routing, maritime inventory systems, and decision support frameworks. His work bridges theoretical algorithms with real-world applications in emergency healthcare logistics and maritime supply chains. Advising & Grants: Currently involved in research projects related to home healthcare optimization and maritime logistics. No listed advisees/students at present. Labs/Teams: Active member of the Planning, Optimization and Decision Support research group at Molde University College.

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Marielle ChristiansenView profile

Professor

Norwegian University of Science and TechnologyNorway

Marielle Christiansen is currently the Dean at the Faculty of Economics and a Professor at the Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management (IØT), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). She holds a civil engineering degree (1989) and a doctorate (1996) from NTNU. Her career includes roles as a researcher at SINTEF and Head of Department of IØT from 2017 to 2025. Her research focuses on maritime transport optimization, logistics, and healthcare applications, with notable contributions to liner shipping networks, inventory routing, and healthcare operations. She has authored/co-authored over 60 publications, including influential reviews on maritime transportation and optimization methods. Notable awards recognize her pioneering work in maritime logistics. Education: Ph.D., NTNU (1996) Civil Engineering, NTNU (1989) Research Interests: Combining operational research with real-world applications, including: Maritime logistics and fleet optimization Healthcare operations management Supply chain design Stochastic modeling for transportation networks Articles Trends: Recent work emphasizes sustainability in transportation (e.g., modal shift analysis, green shipping), healthcare logistics (surgery scheduling), and methodological advances in inventory routing and stochastic optimization. Advising & Grants: Supervised numerous graduate students and led projects funded by industry and governmental bodies. Collaborates with St. Olav's Hospital on healthcare optimization and Sintef on industrial projects. Labs/Teams: Leads the Industrial Logistics research group at IØT, focusing on maritime and healthcare systems.

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Hao YuView profile

Associate Professor

UiT The Arctic University of NorwayNorway

Hao Yu is a tenured Associate Professor and Program Leader for the Master in Industrial Engineering at UiT The Arctic University of Norway , Department of Industrial Technology. His research focuses on real-problem-driven model development and applied operations research for sustainable supply chains, reverse logistics, location/network design, service systems, and smart logistics in Industry 4.0/5.0. He combines predictive , prescriptive , and descriptive analytics in Industry 5.0-enabled Smart Digital Logistics Twins to address challenges in reverse logistics, epidemic logistics, and remanufacturing systems. Current Projects : Industry 5.0 enabled Smart Logistics (2023-2026) - HK-dir/UTFORSK Digital Reverse Logistics Twin 5.0 (2026-2029) - FRIPRO AI for Cyber-Sustainable Engineering Education (2025-2026) - Nordplus Professional Affiliations : NORS (Norwegian Operations Research Society) EWGSSC (EURO Working Group on Sustainable Supply Chains) EWGLA (EURO Working Group on Location Analysis) EURO Working Group on Practice of OR Editorial Roles : Associate Editor - IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems Associate Editor - World Journal of Engineering Editorial Board - Science Progress, Discover Sustainability, Logistics, Eng Teaching Portfolio : SB_ME_IIT_0001_Prosjektledelse (Microcredential, 2026-) INE-3612 Industry X.0 (Master, 2023-) INE-3800 Operations Research 1 (Master, 2022-) INE-3605 Project Management (Master, 2015-2022) TEK-6005 Industry 4.0 (EVU, 2020) INE-3609 Supply Chain Management (Postgraduate, 2019 & 2022-) Hao Yu's recent publications (2022-2025) demonstrate expertise in electric vehicle infrastructure modeling, railway cold chain forecasting, maritime scheduling, and digital twin applications. His work spans optimization/simulation models addressing sustainable logistics, reverse supply chains, and Industry 4.0/5.0 transitions, with case studies focused on Norway and the oil/gas sector.

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Magnus StålhaneView profile

Professor

Norwegian University of Science And TechnologyNorway

Magnus Stålhane is a Professor at the Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). His research focuses on Operations Research , Maritime Logistics , Vehicle Routing , and Optimization , with applications in offshore wind farms, liner shipping, and military logistics. He has published extensively in journals like Transportation Science , European Journal of Operational Research , and Journal of Heuristics . Recent works include Electric Vehicle Routing with heterogeneous recharging technologies, Maritime Fleet Composition under emission restrictions, and Inventory Routing with time-varying demands. His methodologies span Branch-Price-and-Cut , Matheuristics , and Stochastic Programming . Collaborations include researchers from NTNU, Norwegian institutions, and international teams.

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Mohamed Ben AhmedView profile

Associate Professor

Molde University CollegeNorway

Mohamed Ben Ahmed serves as an Associate Professor in Quantitative Logistics at Molde University College's Logistics Department, specializing in optimization and decision support systems for complex logistics networks. His work integrates mathematical modeling with real-world transportation challenges across maritime, airline, and urban mobility sectors. Educational Background: PhD in Quantitative Logistics, Molde University College (2023) - Thesis: 'Analysis of Integrated Planning Models in Logistics' MSc in Industrial Engineering, National School of Engineering, Tunis (2013) BSc in Physics and Chemistry, Preparatory Institute of Engineering Studies, Monastir (2010) His research focuses on developing robust solutions for logistics under uncertainty, with particular expertise in hybrid algorithms combining exact and heuristic methods. Key areas include sustainable micromobility systems, green maritime transportation, automated container terminal operations, and integrated airline scheduling. Current work emphasizes automation in logistics processes and decision-making frameworks resilient to disruptions. Analysis of his 15 most recent publications (2017-2025) reveals a strong trend toward practical applications of optimization in emerging logistics domains, particularly micromobility simulation and green technology adoption. His work consistently bridges theoretical algorithm development with industry-relevant case studies, showing increasing emphasis on sustainability metrics and real-time decision support systems. No scientific awards are currently listed in available sources. His research is conducted within the Planning, Optimization and Decision Support group, focusing on mathematical modeling of logistics networks. While specific grant information isn't provided, his publications indicate collaboration with major industry partners in maritime and aviation sectors. Current projects include developing open-source simulation tools for micromobility planning and optimization frameworks for automated container terminals.

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Kjetil FagerholtView profile

Professor

Molde University CollegeNorway

Kjetil Fagerholt is a Professor at the Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). His research focuses on operations research and maritime logistics, with applications in supply chain optimization and automated container terminals. Recent research includes: Maritime inventory routing for fish feed distribution Liner feeder service network design in China Optimization of AGV routing in automated container terminals Supply chain strategies for ocean alkalinity enhancement He collaborates with institutions like CAU (China), DMU (Denmark), and NTNU on maritime transport and logistics problems. Key projects include FAME and Green Shipping under uncertainty.

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Paulo Cesar RibasView profile

Professor

Molde University CollegeNorway

Paulo Cesar Ribas is a Professor in Energy Logistics at Molde University College (HiMolde), Norway. His expertise lies in optimizing supply chains for energy sectors, especially offshore wind and oil & gas industries. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Industrial Informatics from UTFPR, Brazil, with prior roles including 16 years at PETROBRAS as an Operational Research Analyst, focusing on supply chain planning and optimization. Education: Ph.D. (2012): Electrical Engineering and Industrial Informatics, UTFPR, Brazil Master's (2003): Production and Systems Engineering, PUC/PR, Brazil Bachelor's (1996): Industrial Electrical Engineering, UTFPR, Brazil Specialization (1999): Business Management (ERP Systems), PUC/PR, Brazil Research Interests: Ribas focuses on energy logistics optimization, including offshore wind energy systems, oil & gas supply chains, and low-carbon emission strategies. His work combines discrete event simulation, mathematical modeling, and advanced algorithms to solve complex operational challenges. Recent studies address offshore platform vessel management, pipeline decommissioning, and wind farm maintenance logistics. Key Contributions: His publications emphasize optimization models for supply chain planning, vessel scheduling, and multi-objective algorithms. Notable projects include fleet management strategies for Brazilian offshore operations and helicopter rescheduling in oil industries. He leads the Energy Logistics Research Group (EneLog), collaborating on cutting-edge solutions for sustainable energy logistics. Professional Experience: 2006–2022: PETROBRAS R&D Center – Logistics Research Analyst 2019–2022: Guest Professor at HiMolde 2013–2018: Associate Professor at Veiga de Almeida University, Brazil Labs/Teams: Active contributor to the Energy Logistics Research Group (EneLog), focusing on innovative logistics solutions for renewable and traditional energy sectors.

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Sebastian UrrutiaView profile

Professor

Molde University CollegeNorway

Sebastian Urrutia is a Professor in the Faculty of Logistics at Molde University College (HiMolde), specializing in Operations Research and Optimization. He holds a PhD in Computer Science from Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (2005) and a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Buenos Aires (2001). His research focuses on Integer Programming, Approximation Algorithms, Graph Theory, and applications in Healthcare Logistics, Transportation, and Sports Scheduling. Key research interests include optimization methods for healthcare systems, maritime inventory routing, and algorithmic solutions for complex scheduling problems. His work bridges theoretical advancements in combinatorial optimization with practical applications in logistics and transportation. Recent publications emphasize Benders decomposition for healthcare logistics, polynomial-time graph algorithms, and maritime routing optimization. He has contributed to over 40 peer-reviewed articles in journals like European Journal of Operational Research and Networks . Urrutia’s academic contributions include developing exact and heuristic methods for NP-hard problems, with notable work on the Double Traveling Salesman Problem with Multiple Stacks and token swapping algorithms on cographs.

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Arild HoffView profile

Professor

Molde University CollegeNorway

Arild Hoff is a Professor of Quantitative Logistics at Molde University College, Faculty of Logistics. He teaches courses including LOG500 Management Models and Operations Research (Bachelor - Fall semester) and LOG530 Distribution Planning (Bachelor - Spring semester). Previously, he has taught several subjects within informatics, inventory and production management and exact optimization methods, both at bachelor and master level. His educational background includes: PhD in Logistics – Molde University College (2006) Cand. Scient. – University of Bergen (1998) Cand. Mag. – Molde University College (1994) Marketing – Trondheim Business School (1991) Business Economist – Trondheim Business School (1987) Professor Hoff's research focuses on operations research, planning, optimization and decision support, with particular emphasis on solution methods for combinatorial optimization problems, such as vehicle routing and hub location. His PhD thesis addressed "Heuristics for Rich Vehicle Routing Problems," exploring search methods for solving advanced vehicle routing problems with special constraints. His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on maritime logistics, inventory routing problems, and optimization methods under uncertainty. His work spans applications in aquaculture, disaster relief, waste collection, and transportation planning, with a consistent emphasis on developing and applying advanced optimization techniques to complex real-world problems. Professor Hoff is actively involved in research groups including Energy Logistics (EneLog) and Planning, Optimization and Decision Support, with additional interests in aquaculture and other marine industries.

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