Decomposition for network design

The course will focus on network design problems arising in transportation and logistics. We will classify network design problems and some of their most important features, including the interplay between investment and operational costs, the multicommodity aspect, and the presence of capacity constraints. We will study mathematical programming approaches and present methods designed to solve large-scale network design instances: cutting-plane and column generation methods, as well as Benders decomposition and Lagrangian relaxation approaches.

The course will consist of 12 lectures of 2 hours each, twice a week. Exercises will follow each lecture. At the end of the course, a written exam will be given to evaluate the understanding of the students.