lse phd operations research

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Operations Research

The Operations Research (OR) Group conducts research and teaching in the theory and applications of OR. The group's foremost interest is in fundamental research in OR and related areas of mathematics and theoretical computer science.

Applications, at levels from commercial development to theoretical research motivated by practical problems, include car and truck fleet scheduling, mobile network efficiency, search games, manufacturing optimisation, computer virus detection and recovery, and DNA sequencing. 

The group publish in top-tier OR journals including: Mathematical Programming; Mathematics of Operations Research; and Operations Research,and in mathematics and algorithms journals including Journal of Computational Theory (Series B); ACM Transactions on Algorithms; Combinatorica; Combinatorics, Probability and Computing;and SIAM Journal on Computing, as well as in conferences including FOCS, STOC, and SODA.

Individual faculty interests are listed below, along with our Postdocs and Research students.

Dr Ahmad Abdi

Combinatorial optimisation; integer and linear programming; graph theory; matroid theory

  Dr Grammateia Kotsialou

Liquid democracy; distributed ledger technology; mechanism design; decentralised governance structures; algorithmic economics

Dr Neil Olver

Combinatorial optimisation and its intersections with algorithmic game theory and probability; network design; algorithms in network optimisation and applications in traffic and telecommunication

  Dr Katerina Papadaki

Multiagent learning in pricing games; search and patrolling games; robust optimisation; combinatorial optimisation; approximate dynamic programming algorithms; applications in wireless networks, transportation, energy efficiency, scheduling, and financial portfolio optimisation

Professor Gregory Sorki n

Random graphs and random structures; phase transitions; average-case analysis; exponential-time algorithms; and applications in operations research, biology, auctions, etc.

Professor László Végh

Combinatorial optimisation; graph theory; discrete mathematics; algorithmic game theory

Dr Aled Williams

Integer optimisation; knapsack problems; discrete mathematics; geometry of numbers; diophantine equations; operations research

Dr Giacomo Zambelli

Integer programming; combinatorial optimization; polyhedral combinatorics; 0/1 matrices; graph theory

Dr Sharat Ibrahimpur

Karl Stickler

Rulian Wang

Seminar on Combinatorics, Games and Optimisation

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Operations Management

Faculty research group.

We focus on pursuing fundamental research questions that have a bearing on manufacturing and service operations.

The  Operations Management Faculty Research Group  produces high quality and high impact research that is published in the premier academic journals in management, operations research, and information systems (e.g.,  Management Science, Operations Research, Games and Economic Behavior,  Information Systems Research ) . 

In keeping with LSE’s tradition of high social impact, faculty in the Operations Management area actively explore questions with a significant public policy component. Faculty have consulted on combinatorial spectrum auctions to the US Federal Communications Commission, the UK National Audit Office, and Innovation, Science and Economic Development, Canada. Faculty have also consulted on environmental auction design to the UK Department of Energy & Climate Change and the Directorate-General for Climate Action of the European Commission. 

Members in this area have strong quantitative backgrounds, interdisciplinary research interests, and a variety of methodological approaches. They are interested in designing and analysing optimisation methods for solving decision problems for operations management in information-rich and highly dynamic environments.

Research focus

Faculty research interests include combinatorial auctions, dynamic pricing, congestion pricing, marketing-production joint decision-making, transportation equilibria, the selection and framing of product assortments in e-commerce, the dynamic recommendation of product assortments to consumers, and the estimation of demand under information censorship. 

Faculty members have both worked full-time and collaborated extensively with multiple industry partners including AT&T Bell Laboratories, Microsoft Research, Hewlett-Packard, SAS and Walmart.

Published Papers Read our latest publications

Find Operations Management Faculty Research Group members

Research degrees in Management Visit the PhD programme page to find out more

Dr Thomas Lidbetter

Visiting Senior Fellow

Department of Mathematics London School of Economics

Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, United Kingdom E-mail: [email protected]

I am an associate professor in the Department of Management Science and Information Systems at Rutgers Business School .

Research Interests                                                          

Search theory and algorithms, game theory, discrete optimisation, scheduling, mathematical biology.

Awards and funding

2023-2026: AFOSR award for “A Polyhedral Approach to some Infinite Sequencing Problems” (award number FA9550-23-1-0556)

2019-2022: NSF award for “ Continuous Search and Patrolling on Networks ” (award number 1935826)

2019-2022: NSF award for “ Collaborative Research: Minimum-cost strategies for Sequential Search and Evaluation ” (award number 1909446), with Lisa Hellerstein

2019 Rutgers Business School Junior Faculty Research Excellence Award

2016 LSE Teaching and Learning Centre Teaching Prize

2013 Doctoral Dissertation Award for the most distinguished body of research leading to a doctorate in the field of Operational Research, from UK OR Society

2013 Mathematics Class Teacher Prize, LSE Department of Mathematics

2009-2013, PhD in Department of Mathematics, LSE

PhD supervisor: Steve Alpern

Second supervisor: Bernhard von Stengel

Thesis: Hide-and-seek and other Search Games

2007-2009, MSc in Operational Research, LSE

2004-2005, MMath in Mathematics, University of Cambridge

2001-2004, MA in Mathematics, University of Cambridge

Journal Articles

Bui T, Lidbetter T and Lin, K (2023) Optimal pure strategies for a discrete search game, European Journal of Operational Research (in press)

Lidbetter T and Xie Y (2023) The search and rescue game on a cycle , Theoretical Computer Science , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tcs.2023.114016

Bui T and Lidbetter T (2023) Optimal patrolling strategies for trees and complete networks , European Journal of Operational Research , 311(2):769-776

Hellerstein L and Lidbetter T (2023) A game theoretic approach to a problem in polymatroid maximization , European Journal of Operational Research , 305(2):979-988

Alpern S, Bui T, Lidbetter T and Papadaki K (2022) Continuous patrolling games , Operations Research , 70(6):3076-3089

Happach F, Hellerstein L and Lidbetter T (2021) A general framework for approximating min sum ordering problems , INFORMS Journal on Computing, 34(3):1437-1452

Angelopoulos S and Lidbetter T (2020) Competitive search in a network , European Journal of Operational Research, 286(2):781-790

Agnetis A and Lidbetter T (2020) The largest-Z-ratio-first algorithm is 0.8531-approximate for scheduling unreliable jobs on m parallel machines , Operations Research Letters , 48(4):405-409

Lidbetter T and Lin KY (2020) A search game on a hypergraph with booby traps , Theoretical Computer Science , 821:57-70

Lidbetter T (2020) Search and rescue in the face of uncertain threats , European Journal of Operational Research , 285(3):1153-1160

Alpern S and Lidbetter T (2020) Search and delivery man problems: when are depth-first paths optimal? , European Journal of Operational Research, 285(3):965-976

Fokkink R, Lidbetter T and Végh L (2019) On submodular search and machine scheduling , Mathematics of Operations Research , 44(4):1145-1509

Hellerstein L, Lidbetter T and Pirutinsky D (2019) Solving zero-sum games using best response oracles with applications to search games , Operations Research , 67(3):731-743

Lidbetter T and Lin KY (2019) Searching for multiple objects in multiple locations , European Journal of Operational Research , 278(2):709-720

Angelopoulos S, Dürr C and Lidbetter T (2019) The expanding search ratio of a graph , Discrete Applied Mathematics , 260:51-65

Alpern S, Lidbetter T and Papadaki K (2019) Optimizing periodic patrols against short attacks on the line and other networks , European Journal of Operational Research , 273(3):1065-1073

Alpern S and Lidbetter T (2019)   Approximate solutions for expanding search on general networks , Annals of Operations Research , 275(2):259-279

Bonato A and Lidbetter T (2019) Bounds on the burning numbers of spiders and path-forests , Theoretical Computer Science , 794:12-19

Lidbetter T (2017)   On the approximation ratio of the random Chinese postman tour for network search , European Journal of Operational Research 263(3):782-788

Papadaki, K., Alpern, S., Lidbetter, T. and Morton, A. (2016) Patrolling a border , Operations Research 64(6):1256-1269

Csóka E and Lidbetter T (2016) The solution to an open problem for a caching game . Naval Research Logistics 63(1):23-31

Lidbetter T (2015) A caching game with infinitely divisible hidden material . SIAM Journal on Control and Optimization 52(5):3040-3056

Alpern S and Lidbetter T (2015) Optimal trade-off between speed and acuity when searching for a small object . Operations Research 63(1):122-133

Alpern S and Lidbetter T (2014) Searching a variable speed network . Mathematics of Operations Research , 39(3):697-711

Lidbetter T (2013) Search games with multiple hidden objects .   SIAM Journal on Control and Optimization 51(4):3056–3074

Alpern S and Lidbetter T (2013) Mining coal or finding terrorists: the expanding search paradigm . Operations Research , 61(2):265-279

Alpern S, Fokkink R, Lidbetter T and Clayton N (2012) A search game model of the scatter hoarder's problem .   Journal of the Royal Society Interface , 9(70):869-879

Working papers

Alpern S and Lidbetter T (2023) Searching a tree with signals: routing mobile sensors for targets emitting radiation, chemicals or scents (in review)

Book Chapters

L idbetter T (2013) Search Games for an Immobile Hider .   Fokkink R et al. (ed.) Search Theory: A Game Theoretic Approach

Conference Proceedings

Hellerstein L, Lidbetter T and Witter TA (2022) Local Search Algorithm for the Min-Sum Submodular Cover Problem. In The 33rd International Symposium on Algorithms and Computation (ISAAC 2022)   (accepted)

Alpern S, Lidbetter T, Morton A and Papadaki K (2016) Patrolling a Pipeline. In International Conference on Decision and Game Theory for Security 2016, 129-138, Springer International Publishing.

Angelopoulos S, Dürr C and Lidbetter T (2016) The expanding search ratio of a graph . In The 33rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS), 2016.

Alpern S, Fokkink R, Op Den Kelder J and Lidbetter T (2010) Disperse or unite? A mathematical model of coordinated attack.  In Decision and Game Theory for Security - First International Conference, GameSec 2010 , Berlin, Germany, November 22-23, 2010. Proceedings; 01/2010

Previous employment

2013-2016, LSE Fellow

2011-2013, Graduate teaching assistant, LSE

2009-2011, Operational Research Analyst, Home Office (UK Civil Service)

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Meet the team

Research and innovation create and sustain opportunities for lse to carry out world-leading social science. we maximise the quality, reach and impact of lse's research..

We are LSE's central administrative body, here to help our academic community in all areas of funded research activity

All of our staff work in a blended way - dividing their time between on-campus and remote working.  Please direct your query to the relevant member of our team via email or MS Teams, or contact us via  [email protected] .  

View our  divisional organogram  (click on image to zoom in)

Jen Fensome - Director of Research and Innovation

Jen joined LSE as Director of Research and Innovation in May 2023. Her previous role as Director of Research and Innovation at Loughborough University involved leading an integrated R&I Office that effectively supported the university's ambitions in maintaining and improving its R&I performance. This included Research Excellence Framework (REF) preparation and submission, partnership development, support for research and innovation funding, commercialisation and IP services, and oversight of Loughborough Science and Technology Park’s development.  

Prior to Loughborough University, Jen worked in research roles across a range of HE institutions including as Associate Director of Research and Head of Research Excellence at Cranfield University, Research Support Partner at the University of Birmingham, Research Development Manager at the University of Bedfordshire, and Research Assistant at the University of Leicester.  

Her wide-ranging experience across the research and innovation landscape has involved managing knowledge exchange support services, shaping and delivering university research, enterprise and innovation activities, and assessing state-of-the-art science and technology research for the UK’s defence and security initiatives. Her aim as Director of LSE Research and Innovation is to apply her experience, knowledge and strategic perspective to add real value to the successful delivery of LSE’s research strategy.  

Grace McConnell - Deputy Director of Research and Innovation

Grace joined LSE in March 2020 as Head of Research Development and in April 2023 became Deputy Director of Research and Innovation. Her focus is to get the best out of people in all aspects of her role; across academics in our departments, centres and institutes, and research support staff.

Prior to joining LSE, Grace was Research Development Team Manager at the University of Westminster and before that, Tender Support Team Leader at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (now UK-CEH). She supported a range of disciplines in furthering their research strategies at individual, group and organisational level including environmental sciences, micro-economists, media policy experts and psychologists. Through these roles she gained the research development, professional and managerial skills to support research at LSE.

Grace is a member of the ARMA Professional Development Committee.

Under the Deputy Director's leadership, the following five teams offer support to research-active staff.

Research Development Team

Aims to increase funding application activity to externally peer reviewed funding sources and the quality of applications against funders’ strategies.

Supports LSE staff with their grant applications and liaises with internal parties for approval of proposals and external parties for contractual negotiations and agreements.

Assists in developing grant-writing skills.

Get a feel for the core services we offer in our Research Development infographic or download our detailed service standards .  

Meet the Research Development Team

Anouska Nithyanandan - Head of Research Development

Anouska joined Research and Innovation in May 2017. She offers LSE academics strategic advice and support to develop successful research proposals that secure grant funding from a range of UK and international funders.

Anouska’s first-hand experience of academia gives her a valuable insight into what it takes to translate great research ideas into highly successful grant applications.

Anouska has a first class MEng degree in Mechanical Engineering and Business Management from the University of Warwick, and a PhD in Biomaterials Engineering from University College London.

Prior to joining LSE, Anouska worked as an academic at UCL where she sourced and secured significant grant funding for her own research and that of her team, and worked alongside academic partners and industry to build collaborative research projects. She is therefore particularly interested in high impact interdisciplinary research that draws together social science with STEM subjects, as well as supporting early career researchers with their first grant applications. 

Gwen Cheve - Research Development Manager  

Gwen joined Research and Innovation (R&I) in April 2023 as a Research Development Manager. In this role she provides strategic support and advice to academics so that they can develop their research ideas into distinct and fundable projects.

Gwen has a PhD in Politics and International Studies (feminist security studies and post conflict reconstruction) which she studied at the University of Warwick. She has a background in Anthropology and Political Science (BSc) and International Development: Conflict, Security and Development (MSc).

Prior to working in R&I, she worked at the University of Warwick as a Research Development Officer initially providing research development support to the Faculty of Social Science and then co-managing the institutional Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF). Gwen has also worked at the University of Oxford as a Research Facilitator at the Department of Sociology supporting academic and research staff in securing funding for their research projects.

Julia Howse - Research Development Manager

As Research Development Manager, Julia's role includes supporting academic colleagues in developing and submitting research proposals.

Prior to joining LSE, she worked at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, and at King’s College London, supporting research applications in a number of fields. Her earlier experience includes supporting the basic science funding committees at the Wellcome Trust.

Barbara Kolaric - Research Development Manager

Barbara joined Research and Innovation in August 2019, as the Committees and Governance Manager in the Division’s Policy Team. In that role, she was primarily responsible for coordinating activities and meetings of the School’s Research Committee, its working groups and sub-committees, while supporting the Research Development Team (RDT) part-time. Her role with RDT became full-time in March 2022 and she became Research Development Manager in July 2023.

Prior to joining LSE, she worked as Policy Manager for the American Chamber of Commerce in Croatia, and has held various positions in the Croatian public administration in the area of research and innovation policy, planning of calls and evaluation of innovative projects to be funded using EU Structural and Investment Funds and grant funding of technology transfer activities at Croatian universities.

She is also an LSE graduate, having completed the MSc in Politics and Government in the European Union at the European Institute in 2013.

Aygen Kurt-Dickson - Research and Innovation Strategy Manager

Aygen has a PhD in Innovation Studies (a multidisciplinary field of sociology, politics and STS) which she studied as a Jean Monnet scholar, partially funded by the European Commission. She has a background in Political Science and Public Administration (BSc) and Science and Technology Policy Studies (MSc).

Before joining LSE, she worked part-time as a research support officer, and as research fellow in an EU FP7 project researching on ethical/social implications and governance of technological development process.

Her research interests on the EU’s research and innovation policy, innovation governance, the formation of the European Research Area, and how socio-political integration can be enhanced via innovation activity at sectoral and national levels, led her to engage more with research funding in a wider context of policy landscape.

Connect with Aygen on LinkedIn.

Chelsea Oware - Research Development Administrator

Chelsea supports the Team's Research Development and Grant Application Managers across various areas including Philosophy, Psychology, Mathematics and European Institute.

Chelsea has an MSc in Social Research Methods from LSE and a BA in Politics and International Relations from the University of Nottingham. She has a range of passions and interests from intersectional feminism, academic decolonisation and social movement theory, to musical theatre, visual arts and 90s RnB and Hip Hop. In her free time, Chelsea is a visual artist interested in abstract artwork.

Prior to joining LSE’s Research Development Team, Chelsea worked as a researcher at Executive Search firm Odgers Berndtson in the Higher Education practice, learning the ins and outs of the Higher Education landscape from an external perspective. She has also worked with organisations such as the Electoral Reform Society, UNESCO and the Centre for African Studies in Turin.

Henna Patel - Research Development Manager

Henna joined LSE in December 2022 as a Research Development Manager. This role builds on her previous experience working in research development at the University of Westminster and the University of Reading. Henna has also worked as a Policy Manager at the Economic and Social Research Council, giving her a unique insight into the way funders work. Henna maintains a keen interest in politics, since completing an MA in European Politics and a BA in Political Science and Philosophy. 

Dorota Rejman - Grant Applications Manager

Dorota joined Research and Innovation in 2007. She holds an Msc in International Finance and Accounting from LSE and is a qualified accountant. She excels in supporting LSE faculty in their pursuit of funding in the UK and internationally, providing an interface between applicants and funders throughout the contractual development. Dorota has extensive experience in managing complex and informational projects for a variety of major funders such as UKRI, the European Commission, DfID and Deutsche Bank.

EU research and innovation policy, challenges affecting research funding in general and in exploring novel means of sharing good practice are among Dorota’s current interests. In May 2021 she presented at INORMS (Hiroshima) on how universities can demonstrate to funders their capacity to govern and administer research effectively. 

Nathalie Van-der-Elst - Research Development Manager

Nathalie joined Research and Innovation (R&I) in October 2020. She provides strategic support and guidance for LSE faculty by facilitating and developing research grant opportunities to secure UK and international funding.

Nathalie completed a MSc in International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies from LSE and received her BA in International Relations from Boston University. Her interests include gender justice and care work.

Prior to working in R&I, Nathalie worked in Philanthropy and Global Engagement (PaGE) at LSE where she managed a diverse portfolio cultivating mutually beneficial relationships with UK and international trusts and foundations and the School. 

Research Awards Team

Co-ordinates, manages and provides support in all aspects of research grant management (once an application is awarded).

Ensures compliance with internal financial regulations and  regulations of research funding bodies.

Manages contractual relationship with external research funding bodies.

Manages Research Infrastructure and Investment Fund.

Get a feel for the core services we offer in our  Research Awards infographic  or  download our detailed service standards.    

Meet the Research Awards Team

Kerry Hocken - Research Accountant and Head of Research Awards  

Kerry joined LSE in 1990 and after an 18 month stint in Finance Division she moved to what was the Research and Consultancy Office. Kerry has seen Research and Innovation grow from a small team of 6 looking after research awards with annual income in the region of £4m to a team with 30 members of staff and research income in excess of £30m.

Since 1996 Kerry has been the LSE’s Research Accountant and later took full line management responsibility for the Research Awards Team. Kerry is responsible for the School’s research and accounting procedures and processes, providing guidance for the Research and Innovation and the School on research related finance, resource and accounting matters.

She is also responsible for managing and producing the HEFCE 10 year forecasts, year-end returns and HESA Financial Statistical returns in relation to research grant income and the financial data for REF.   Kerry is committed to ensuring that the Research Awards Team strives towards providing exceptional service delivery and support to the LSE research community, helping to contribute towards the success of the School’s research. 

Fatima Arshad - Research Awards Manager

Fatima joined Research and Innovation in February 2023 as a Research Awards Manager, having completed her MA in Social Development from the University of Sussex.

Before pursuing her postgraduate degree in the UK, she served as a counsellor in the Student Affairs Department at Nixor College, Pakistan, where she had direct interactions with students and facilitated communication between various departments including the Dean's Office.

Fatima has also gained valuable skills in management and leadership through her diverse professional background.

Nazifa Azad - Research Awards Admin Assistant

Nazifa joined Research and Innovation in August 2023 having completed her BSc in International Relations at LSE. As an Administrative Assistant, she provides administrative and organisational support to the Research Awards Managers across a wide range of the Team's activities.

Alistair Brown - Research Awards Manager

Alistair joined LSE Research and Innovation in January 2023 as Research Awards Manager, supporting several academic units in the management of their research projects.

Alistair has over 8 years experience of working in the Higher Education Sector, at the Universities of Huddersfield, Leeds and Bradford, in both pre and post award roles as well as working in central finance.  Alistair has a degree in Accounting, as well as being part qualified ACCA.

Catherine Cunningham - Research Finance Manager 

Catherine joined LSE in September 2023 to take up one of the new Research Finance Manager positions in the Research and Innovation Division, supporting the Research Accountant. Her remit is to help departments and centres manage their research grant portfolios, with a particular emphasis on financial management.

She has previously worked at a number of prestigious research-focussed organisations including the Cancer Research UK London Research Institute (now part of the Francis Crick Institute), the Alan Turing Institute and Imperial College London. As a consequence, Catherine has extensive experience of dealing with funders such as the European Commission and the UKRI Research Councils amongst others.

Passionate about research, Catherine started her career as a research scientist with a PhD from UCL before leaving lab work to move into research administration and re-training as a CIMA chartered accountant. 

Jane Ellison - Research Finance Manager

Jane supports a broad portfolio of research awards for the School’s academic research community. She has various background experience which includes scientific training, industrial research leadership, management within small business and self-employment.

With her skills and attributes, Jane underpins LSE by ensuring an optimum use of project resource which enables the academic research community to achieve the best results from grant awards.

Natalie Hua - Research Awards Manager

Natalie joined LSE Research and Innovation in June 2020 as Research Awards Manager, supporting several research centres and academic departments in the management of their research projects. Prior to that she worked for Toyota Financial Services, Australia. Natalie has a Bachelor of Commerce, Majors: Finance and International Commerce from Monash University.

Benjamin Nevius - Research Finance Manager

Benjamin joined LSE in 2008, becoming Research Finance Manager in July 2023.

He helps departments and centres manage their research grant portfolios, provides training and support to his colleagues on the team, and assists the research accountant with her duties. He has experience working with all types of funders including the European Commission and Research Councils. 

Prior to joining LSE, he worked for over four years on the Pre-Award team of the Smithsonian Institution’s Office of Sponsored Projects, helping staff from the National Museum of Natural History locate funding opportunities and prepare and submit grant proposals, with emphasis on proposals to the National Science Foundation.

Before that, Benjamin worked at the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory services where he managed contracts for a government-funded juvenile delinquency prevention programme. 

He has a master's degree in social work from the University of Texas at Austin with a specialisation in non-profit administration and planning.

Sofia Pavlaki - Research Awards Manager

Sofia joined LSE Research and Innovation in August 2023 as a Research Awards Manager, supporting several research centres and academic departments in the management of their research projects.

Before joining LSE Sofia was working as a co-ordinator in Film, TV and Advertising. She has extensive experience in finance management for big TV Productions and Commercials.

Prior to that, Sofia worked in the Health Sector after completing an MSc degree from Oxford Brookes University in 2015.

Edward Perrin - Research Awards Manager

Edward joined Research and Innovation as a Research Awards Manager in August 2021. He previously worked as the Administrator: Finance, Projects and Facilities for 3 years supporting the LSE Department of Mathematics in its financial and operational processes.

Prior to this, Edward worked for the University of Cambridge Biomedical Services and Division of Anaesthesia in a financial and operational capacity. 

Edward has a BSc (Hons) Degree in International Management from Anglia Ruskin University, which included a year studying at the Hogeschool Zuyd (Maastricht) as part of the Erasmus programme. He has a PRINCE2 qualification and is working towards a CIMA professional qualification.

Valeria Scacchi - Research Awards Manage r

Valeria joined LSE as a Research Awards Manager in May 2023. She has extensive skills in grant administration specialising in the charity and academic sector. She worked for the University of Roehampton in various roles for over seven years and is experienced in designing impact studies for deep analysis of charitable activities.

Valeria was awarded a PhD by the University of Roehampton in 2022 with a thesis titled: “ Reconceptualising professional learning and development through a Froebelian lens: Early Childhood educators’ perspectives on professional identities in the UK and Italy ”. Her research is concerned with a reconceptualisation of professional development for educators in early childhood education and care and aims at developing and promoting an alternative approach to professional development and learning that is situated in the Froebelian tradition.

Valeria has experience in the academic field as a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Roehampton and supported the Early Childhood Research Centre as a Research Officer for several years. 

Deborah Tupou  - Research Awards Admin Assistant  

Deborah joined LSE in February 2023. Educated in New Zealand at Epsom Girls Grammar, she has over 30 years experience in Administration working in both non-profit organisations and the private sector.

Deborah has also studied at Massey University in social work, community health and psychology. Her working career has mainly been in social services, councils, health, and government.

Agnes Yung- Research Awards Manager

Agnes joined Research and Innovation as Research Awards Manager in January 2023. She previously worked as Student Research Assistant in the Department of Art History at University of Göttingen in Germany, providing support in course preparation and research projects.

Prior to that, she worked for various organisations in the arts sector in Hong Kong, including a governmental museum office, a charity and a statutory funding body. Agnes has a master's degree in Art History from University of Göttingen.

Research Governance and Culture Team

Offers advice on LSE’s Research Ethics Policy.

Supports the development and governance of research policy and strategy.

Manages the Research Excellence Framework (REF) preparation and submission process, including publications and impact case studies.

Creates greater awareness of knowledge exchange and impact (KEI) activities both within the LSE and at an individual level through KEI projects funded by the Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) and the ESRC Impact Accelerator Account.

Meet the Research Governance and Culture Team

Jo Hemmings - Head of Research Governance and Culture

Jo oversees the work of the Research Governance and Culture Team, which broadly focuses on supporting the research environment for academic colleagues.  She manages the School's submission to the Research Excellence Framework (REF) on behalf of the REF Strategy Committee and supports the team’s work on research ethics, research integrity and knowledge exchange and impact (KEI). 

Jo joined Research and Innovation in 2000 and has overseen the School’s submissions to four national research exercises to date.  Jo has a BA in English from the University of Liverpool and an MA in Renaissance Studies from Birkbeck.

Myriam Fellous-Sigrist -  Research Ethics Officer  

Myriam supports the work of the Research Ethics Committee and the Research Governance Manager. She oversees research ethics applications submitted to the Research Ethics Committee for review and supports researchers, students and colleagues in other professional services divisions.

Myriam joined Research and Innovation in 2022. She has a PhD in Digital Humanities from King’s College London; her thesis analysed the ethical and legal impact of digital technologies on audiovisual archives, with a focus on oral history collections.

She previously worked at the British Library, providing copyright and data protection support for a large sound heritage project. Before that she worked at University College London Library where she helped research staff and students navigate expectations around research data management, research ethics and funders’ data sharing policies.

Lyn Grove - Research Governance Manager

Lyn assists the Research Governance and Impact Team in matters regarding research governance with particular reference to research ethics and (mis)conduct.

She provides advice and support on the School’s research ethics procedures and supports the work of the Research Ethics Committee. She plays a key role in ensuring that the School’s research ethics policy reflects sector-wide good practice. She also supports the School’s research ethics training and development activities.

Lyn has been at LSE since 2001. For many years she was the centre manager of the Centre for the Analysis of Time Series.

Lyn has a PhD from the UCL Institute of Education. Her thesis examined the effects of funding policies on academic research.

Casimira Headley-Walker - Committees and Governance Manager

Casimira manages the School’s Research Committees, including the Research Committee, REFSC, and KEFSC, scheduling, writing and receiving reports, and preparing minutes. She also runs Research Centre Reviews for the School, as well as dealing with committee related questions.

She joined the School from Birkbeck, where she is currently completing an MA in Historical Research.

Wendy Leung - REF Support Manager

Wendy joined Research and Innovation in February 2019 as REF Support Manager, co-ordinating the REF 2021 submission with a focus on the technical aspects of REF requirements and an oversight of the equality, diversity and inclusivity analyses in relation to REF 2021. She will continue to provide advice and training across the School in preparation for its submission to the next REF.

She has diverse experience in enabling research and researchers in the higher education sector. This includes several years in medical research and academic publishing as managing editor for a large portfolio of Psychology journals at Routledge, followed by some time at both KCL and UCL supporting research strategy across the life and medical sciences.

Systems and Operations Team

Ensures there is an effective infrastructure of systems, practices, policies and processes that underpin and optimise the division’s work across LSE.

Develops and maintains Research and Innovation's business systems.

Coordinates the provision and maintenance of high quality management information to meet the strategic and operational objectives of both the division and the wider School.

Manages operations across Research and Innovation.

Meet the Systems and Operations Team

Amanda Burgess - Head of Systems and Operations

Amanda is responsible for developing and maintaining supported and effective systems and data that underpin the LSE-wide research lifecycle and LSE 2030 Research for the World strategy, and support evidence-based decision making for funded research activity, innovation activities, and research impact. She oversees operations across the division and plays a pivotal role in ensuring that the division optimises its functioning in a blended working environment. 

She has worked in Research and Innovation since 1993, undertaking various roles including head of the Research Awards Team and a four-year secondment to LSE Enterprise. She has a strong commitment to customer service and service delivery, and providing infrastructure and tools to enable staff to efficiently perform their roles.

Charlotte Creamore - Research Development Administrative Assistant

Charlotte joined LSE Research and Innovation in August 2022 having completed an MA in English Literature at UCL and receiving a first class BA from the University of Warwick. Throughout her four years at university, she has contributed to a number of higher education projects, working alongside organisations such as The Sutton Trust and The National Literacy Trust. 

Jay Riedel - Administrative Assistant

Jay joined the team in 2022. Since graduating from a Business degree Jay has worked in various administrative roles for private companies such as Close Brothers Group.

Crispin Williams - Research Systems Manager

Crispin joined Research and Innovation in late 2018. He is the system administrator and expert user for Pure and provides first line support for all Research and Innovation systems.

Before joining the team, Crispin spent a number of years working for the NHS and has provided support in the implementation of various online systems to provide greater automation and improve management information within a corporate setting.

Evidence and Analysis Service

Provides continuous monitoring and evaluation across the research lifecycle of LSE’s impacts and outputs from research papers through to real-world impact. 

Informs a wide variety of stakeholders of policy insights and horizon scanning to support strategic decision making and planning. 

Optimises LSE's funds and schemes for maximum impact through careful financial planning and monitoring, and tailored project and programme support. 

Takes on analyses, reviews and other projects to respond to patterns and trends in support of the Research for the World strategy . 

Meet the Evidence and Analysis Team

Nicholas Ansell – Impact Monitoring Officer

Nicholas also sits within our Research Governance and Impact Team. View his bio here .

Mariane Bignotto - R&I Funds Officer

Mariane joined LSE as R&I Funds Officer in September 2023 to implement activities related to hypothecated funding and major research and innovation projects, whilst supporting the progress of funded strategic projects to ensure they are delivered within the time and budget allocated. As part of the Evidence and Analysis Team, she will continuously monitor the effectiveness of internal funding schemes to ensure they are meeting or exceeding their expected purpose.

Mariane worked as a project coordinator for bioinformatics research at LSHTM and prior to that was the Executive Assistant for the Research PVC at the University of Westminster. Mariane has over 8 years of experience in research project management and a proven track record of overseeing research milestones, liaising with external stakeholders or partners and ensuring project activities are on track and auditable.

She supported the last REF submission, overseeing and advising on the progress of impact case studies and strategic output targets. Her strengths are facilitating discussions amongst a diverse range of researchers whilst building partnerships with collaborators and funders, and ensuring research projects are meeting expected targets.

Mariane has a keen interest in public policy and language usage, human-computer interactions and bias in algorithms. She is a graduate of linguistics, with further graduate training in social policy, data analysis and programming. 

Christopher Daley - R&I Evidence Manager

Chris joined LSE in September 2023. His role involves gathering evidence on the internal and external R&I landscape and producing reports, briefings and presentations which will inform strategic decision making and contribute to LSE fulfilling the objectives of the Research for the World strategy.

Chris holds a PhD in English Literature from the University of Westminster and originally worked in academia before moving into research management. He previously worked at Brunel University London and Royal Holloway in a variety of roles which involved research information management, open scholarship advocacy, research development, and the implementation of strategic research programmes. In 2022, Chris founded the Engaged Humanities Lab at Royal Holloway, an initiative that created diverse partnerships between academia, the heritage sector and local industry as well as being a vehicle for promoting the societal value of arts and humanities research.

Chris is an active member of ARMA and a mentor for the ARMA/AHRC/RLUK Research Catalyst Programme.  

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PhD Operational Research

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Entry requirements

Fees and funding.

• What's next?

Our PhD Operational Research gives you the opportunity to explore areas where optimisation and mathematical modelling are important. These include logistics, revenue management, networks and stochastic control, areas of great practical interest and use in the public and private sectors. Our projects often have an experimental aspect which is underpinned by forefront mathematical and computational research in these areas.

Our staff are strongly committed to research and teaching. They have published several well-regarded text books and are world leaders in their individual specialisms, with their papers appearing in learned journals such as: International Journal of Mathematics in Operational Research, Transportation Science, Journal of the Operational Research Society, Mathematical Problems in Engineering , and European Journal of Operational Research .

Our School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science is genuinely innovative and student-focused. Our research groups are working on a broad range of collaborative areas tackling real-world issues. Here are a few examples:

We also offer an MPhil and an MSD in this subject, and part-time research study is also available.

• Our School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science has an international reputation in many areas like such as semi-group theory, optimisation, probability, applied statistics, bioinformatics and mathematical biology.
• Work alongside our staff who are strongly committed to research and teaching.
• Our School is ranked 31st for research power in the Research Excellence Framework 2021.

Our expert staff

The School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science has an international reputation in all areas of Mathematical Sciences including; statistics, operational research, applied mathematics, pure mathematics, and actuarial science.

We encourage PhD students to meet with their supervisor regularly. While undertaking your research within Mathematical Sciences, joint supervision across other Essex departments and schools is possible. Joint supervision allows you to have a supervisor based in our School and another in a relevant Department or School (such as Life Sciences, or Computer Science and Electronic Engineering).

At the end of your PhD you may be publishing your research in academic journals. Our PhD students have had papers accepted and published in journals such as: Ecology, Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical, Mathematical Modelling of Natural Phenomena , and The North American Journal of Economics and Finance .

Specialist facilities

The School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science is based in the University's state-of-the-art STEM Centre. Research students have a dedicated work space and PCs, with access to software such as MATLAB, Gap, SageMath, Python and R.

All University of Essex research students have access to our innovative and unique scheme, Proficio . Postgraduate research students are automatically enrolled on Proficio, which provides a variety of training courses, and a fund of up to £2,500 per student for conference attendance and relevant external training courses.

Our School is part of MAGIC , a consortium of 22 UK universities which share PhD-level Mathematics courses, giving you access to a wide array of specialist training opportunities.

Your future

Many of our former PhD students have gone on to work as academics in prominent institutions across the world, such as the University of Cambridge, University of Nottingham and many other international universities. Some have also remained at the University of Essex, working as postdoctoral research fellows, research impact officers, or lecturers.

Other graduates have joined organisations like the Met Office, the Ministry of Defence, and companies based in the City of London. There is a high demand for those with a numerate background in all sectors of the economy, so our graduates are sought after in the UK and abroad.

UK entry requirements

You will need a good honours degree and a Masters degree in a relevant subject. A well-developed research proposal is also essential.

You may be required to attend an interview/Skype interview for acceptance, and acceptance is subject to research expertise in the department.

International & EU entry requirements

We accept a wide range of qualifications from applicants studying in the EU and other countries. Get in touch with any questions you may have about the qualifications we accept. Remember to tell us about the qualifications you have already completed or are currently taking.

Sorry, the entry requirements for the country that you have selected are not available here. Please select your country page where you'll find this information.

English language requirements

Course structure.

A research degree gives you the chance to investigate an area or topic in real depth, and develop transferable research skills. During your time in the School you have opportunities to attend conferences, publish papers, and give talks at departmental research seminars. You may also attend some university modules, and will meet with your supervisor typically on a weekly basis.

Within our School, our PhD students are usually encouraged to take our taught module, Research Methods, in the first year of study, so you are well equipped with the necessary skills to undertake effective research. You may also attend some other modules on an informal basis.

All our students wishing to study for a PhD enrol on a combined MPhil/PhD pathway. In your second year of study, depending on progress, a decision is made by our School on whether to proceed with either an MPhil or a PhD.

Our full-time research students have a supervisory board to review their progress every six months (or annually if studying part-time). Typically, the board involves your supervisor and one other academic. The recommendations of this are considered by our Departmental Research Students' Progress Board, which will make decisions on your registration status.

If you progress well, you should be confirmed as a PhD student in the first term of your second year of study.

We understand that deciding where and what to study is a very important decision for you. We'll make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the courses, services and facilities as described on our website and in line with your contract with us. However, if we need to make material changes, for example due to significant disruption, we'll let our applicants and students know as soon as possible.

Components are the blocks of study that make up your course. A component may have a set module which you must study, or a number of modules from which you can choose.

Each component has a status and carries a certain number of credits towards your qualification.

The modules that are available for you to choose for each component will depend on several factors, including which modules you have chosen for other components, which modules you have completed in previous years of your course, and which term the module is taught in.

Modules are the individual units of study for your course. Each module has its own set of learning outcomes and assessment criteria and also carries a certain number of credits.

In most cases you will study one module per component, but in some cases you may need to study more than one module. For example, a 30-credit component may comprise of either one 30-credit module, or two 15-credit modules, depending on the options available.

Modules may be taught at different times of the year and by a different department or school to the one your course is primarily based in. You can find this information from the module code . For example, the module code HR100-4-FY means:

COMPONENT 01: COMPULSORY

This module is for PhD students who are completing the research portions of their theses.

View Mathematics - Research on our Module Directory

A PhD (taking at least three years) typically involves wide reading round the subject area in your first year, then gradually developing original results over your second and third years, before writing them up in a coherent fashion. The resulting thesis is expected to make a significant contribution to knowledge.

Your PhD is awarded after your successful defence of your thesis in an oral examination (viva), in which you are interviewed about your research by two examiners, at least one of whom is from outside Essex.

Home/UK fee

£4,786 per year

International fee

£18,750 per year

Fees will increase for each academic year of study.

Masters fees and funding information

Research (e.g. PhD) fees and funding information

What's next

We hold Open Days for all our applicants throughout the year. Our Colchester Campus events are a great way to find out more about studying at Essex, and give you the chance to:

• tour our campus and accommodation
• find out answers to your questions about our courses, graduate employability, student support and more
• talk to our Fees and Funding team about scholarship opportunities
• meet our students and staff

If the dates of our organised events aren’t suitable for you, feel free to get in touch by emailing [email protected] and we’ll arrange an individual campus tour for you.

2024 Open Days (Colchester Campus)

• Saturday 15 June 2024 - June Open Day
• Saturday 21 September 2024 - September Open Day
• Saturday 26 October 2024 - October Open Day

You can apply for this postgraduate course online . Before you apply, please check our information about necessary documents that we'll ask you to provide as part of your application.

We encourage you to make a preliminary enquiry directly to a potential supervisor or the Graduate Administrator within your chosen Department or School. We encourage the consideration of a brief research proposal prior to the submission of a full application.

We aim to respond to applications within four weeks. If we are able to offer you a place, you will be contacted via email.

For information on our deadline to apply for this course, please see our ‘ how to apply ' information.

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Set within 200 acres of  award-winning  parkland - Wivenhoe Park  and located two miles from the  historic city centre of Colchester – England's oldest recorded development. Our Colchester Campus is also easily reached from London and Stansted Airport in under one hour.

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If you live too far away to come to Essex (or have a busy lifestyle), no problem. Our 360 degree virtual tour allows you to explore the Colchester Campus from the comfort of your home. Check out our accommodation options, facilities and social spaces.

At Essex we pride ourselves on being a welcoming and inclusive student community. We offer a wide range of support to individuals and groups of student members who may have specific requirements, interests or responsibilities.

The University makes every effort to ensure that this information on its programme specification is accurate and up-to-date. Exceptionally it can be necessary to make changes, for example to courses, facilities or fees. Examples of such reasons might include, but are not limited to: strikes, other industrial action, staff illness, severe weather, fire, civil commotion, riot, invasion, terrorist attack or threat of terrorist attack (whether declared or not), natural disaster, restrictions imposed by government or public authorities, epidemic or pandemic disease, failure of public utilities or transport systems or the withdrawal/reduction of funding. Changes to courses may for example consist of variations to the content and method of delivery of programmes, courses and other services, to discontinue programmes, courses and other services and to merge or combine programmes or courses. The University will endeavour to keep such changes to a minimum, and will also keep students informed appropriately by updating our programme specifications . The University would inform and engage with you if your course was to be discontinued, and would provide you with options, where appropriate, in line with our Compensation and Refund Policy.

The full Procedures, Rules and Regulations of the University governing how it operates are set out in the Charter, Statutes and Ordinances and in the University Regulations, Policy and Procedures.

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Operations Research Center

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Phd in operations research.

MIT’s doctoral degree (PhD) program in operations research (OR) provides you with thorough understanding of the theory of OR while teaching you to how to develop and apply OR methods in practice.

We offer a general degree track as well as three optional degree tracks in operations management , networked systems , and analytics . All doctoral students must complete the general degree track requirements; those who choose an optional degree track will have additional, specialized requirements to fulfill. 

General Degree Track

In addition to the writing competency requirements, our rigorous curriculum includes challenging coursework, action learning, and innovative research.

You’ll take eight graduate-level classes that have been approved by the ORC co-directors, including at least two courses in optimization, at least three in applied probability and statistics, and at least one in OR modeling.

You’ll put OR theory into practice through valuable, hands-on learning experiences, completing one of the following:

• Option 1: Participate in a summer internship, during which you’ll create OR models that address a real-world problem.
• Option 2: Undertake a project with an ORC faculty member, either as part of a supervised research activity or as an extra part of a regular course offering.
• Option 3: Take part in a class, for which you’ll build and implement OR models that have practical applications.

And, you’ll conduct in-depth research on a topic that complements your academic interests and career goals. You’ll write a thesis based on the independent research you conduct under the guidance of our expert faculty.

Qualifying Process and General Examination

All students enrolled in an ORC doctoral program must complete the Qualifying Process and receive a passing score on the General Examination.

• Students must choose one approved course from the three different categories (Optimization, Probability, and Machine Learning/Statistics). 
• Students must satisfactorily complete these three courses with a minimum of 2 As and 1 B or a combined GPA of 4.6 or higher by the end of their third semester at MIT.
• Students are required to register and take for credit the software tools course 15.S60 offered during IAP (January) led by current ORC students.
• During the student’s first summer at MIT (month of August), doctoral students will engage in a Common Experience project where students will work in teams to address an important problem for an organization.   
• General Examination : Students are required to take the General Examination once they have passed the Qualifying Process.  The General Exam is comprised of a research-oriented (RO) paper and an oral presentation of the RO paper and a discussion on a research paper selected by the General Exam Committee.

Upon completion of our doctoral program, you’ll have the specialized knowledge and technical skills to have a positive impact in a variety of fields, including business, education, and research. Many of our graduates have gone on to careers in academia, in the U.S. and abroad, while others have found success in business and industry as researchers and consultants.

  Analytics Track

In addition to the general PhD degree requirements, you will also:

• complete a summer internship with an organization related to analytics for your hands-on learning experience.
• take two specialized courses in analytics; these classes may count toward your eight required graduate-level classes.
• serve as a teaching assistant in courses related to analytics, or an approved equivalent.
• write a thesis on a topic related to analytics; one member of your thesis committee should be among the ORC faculty who specialize in analytics.

Networked Systems Track

• complete a summer internship with an organization related to networked systems for your hands-on learning experience.
• take two specialized courses in networked systems; these classes may count toward your eight required graduate-level classes.
• serve as a teaching assistant in courses related to networked systems, or an approved equivalent.
• write a thesis on a topic related to networked systems; one member of your thesis committee should be among the ORC faculty who specialize in networked systems.

Operations Management Track

• complete a summer internship with an organization related to operations management for your hands-on learning experience.
• take two specialized courses in operations management; these classes may count toward your eight required graduate-level classes. 
• serve as a teaching assistant in two MBA courses related to operations management or assist in one and take another one for credit. At least one of the classes for which you’re a teaching assistant must include recitation.
• write a thesis on a topic related to operations management; one member of your thesis committee should be among the ORC faculty who specialize in operations management.

For more information about our PhD program, please see our General Exam Syllabus .

For more information about ORC course offerings, please go here .

What is Operations Research?

Operations research (OR) is the discipline of applying advanced analytical methods—such as optimization, statistics, machine learning, and probability — to  make better decisions that impact society and the world positively.

The mission of the PhD program is intimately linked to the mission of the ORC.

Phone:  617-253-3601 Email:   [email protected]

• Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering >
• PhD Program >
• PhD in Industrial Engineering >

Operations Research

Degree concentration for phd, industrial engineering.

Operations Research (OR) is the application of scientific and especially mathematical methods to the study and analysis of problems involving complex systems. 

PhD students interested in OR apply methods such as mathematical programming, stochastic modeling, and discrete-event simulation to the solution of problems in complex systems such as logistics, supply chain optimization, long-range planning, energy and environmental systems, urban and health systems, and manufacturing.

We have an active student body - in fact, UB hosts one of the founding chapters of Omega Rho, the National Operations Research Honor Society. Students are also active participants in the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS).

Our faculty and students conduct OR research funded by such agencies as the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Transportation and the National Institute of Justice, as well as national and local corporations and foundations such as United Airlines, Praxair, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and the Fire Protection Research Foundation. We often work in teams with faculty and students with research interests in manufacturing, production systems and human factors to solve problems beyond the expertise of any single discipline.

Graduating students take positions in national and international corporations, academic institutions and research laboratories. 

Required Core Courses

ISE PhD students who concentrate in OR complete at a minimum:

• IE 572 Linear Programming
• IE 573 Discrete Optimization
• IE 575 Stochastic Methods
• IE 576 Applied Stochastic Processes
• IE 5xx/6xx Operations Research/IE Elective
• IE 555 Programming for Analytics (Must be completed within the first two years of the program)