Martijn R.K. Mes

Martijn Mes is a full professor of Transportation and Logistics Management and chair of the Industrial Engineering & Business Information Systems section at the University of Twente, Netherlands. He leads research and education initiatives that integrate AI, simulation and optimisation into logistics and supply-chain innovation.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Operations Research, University of Twente – 2008
• M.Sc. in Applied Mathematics, University of Twente – 2002
• Post-doctoral researcher, Princeton University, Dept. of Operations Research & Financial Engineering

Research focus:

Mes develops quantitative models and AI techniques for strategic, tactical and operational logistics challenges. His work spans three application pillars:

• Emergency & humanitarian logistics – rapid relief distribution with trucks and UAVs
• Urban logistics – city distribution, self-organising systems and last-mile innovations
• Sustainable logistics – synchromodal transport, green ports and electric/autonomous fleets

Methodologically he combines approximate dynamic programming, reinforcement learning, multi-agent simulation, discrete-event simulation and stochastic optimisation to create decision-support tools for industry and government.

Publications trend:

Recent articles (2025-2022) exhibit a strong emphasis on integrating reinforcement learning and stochastic optimisation into dynamic vehicle routing, drone-assisted delivery and post-disaster inventory allocation, signalling a shift towards data-driven, real-time logistic systems.

Grants & projects:

Mes has coordinated and participated in numerous national and European projects on sustainable logistics, urban distribution, port optimisation and healthcare logistics, frequently collaborating with industry partners and public bodies.

Teaching & supervision:

He coordinates and lectures in the BSc and MSc programmes Industrial Engineering & Management, offering courses on simulation, queueing theory, dynamic programming, Markov chains, transportation management and technology management. He has authored a widely used Plant Simulation tutorial and supervises PhD candidates working on AI-driven logistics, autonomous vehicles and digital twins.