Research

TRANSP-OR: Virginie Lurkin

Virginie Lurkin

This page reports only the academic work registered in the databases of the Transport and Mobility Laboratory, and is not necessarily a comprehensive list of the work by Virginie Lurkin.

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Virginie Lurkin

International journals

Published

Total: 6

    Book chapters

    Papers in conference proceedings

    • Bortolomiol, S., Lurkin, V., and Bierlaire, M. (2021). Benders decomposition for choice-based optimization problems with discrete upper-level variables. Proceedings of the 21st Swiss Transport Research Conference (STRC) 12-14 September, 2021.
    • Bortolomiol, S., Lurkin, V., and Bierlaire, M. (2020). Optimal regulation of oligopolistic markets under discrete choice models of demand. Proceedings of the 20th Swiss Transport Research Conference (STRC) 13-15 May, 2020.
    • Lederrey, G., Lurkin, V., Hillel, T., and Bierlaire, M. (2019). Stochastic optimization with adaptive batch size: Discrete choice models as a case study. Proceedings of the 8th Symposium of the European Association for Research in Transportation (HEART) 4-6 September, 2019.
    • Bortolomiol, S., Lurkin, V., and Bierlaire, M. (2019). A demand-based optimization approach to find market equilibria in oligopolies. Proceedings of the 19th Swiss Transport Research Conference (STRC) 15-17 May, 2019.
    • Lederrey, G., Lurkin, V., Hillel, T., and Bierlaire, M. (2019). Stochastic optimization with adaptive batch size: Discrete choice models as a case study. Proceedings of the 19th Swiss Transport Research Conference (STRC) 15-17 May, 2019.
    • Lederrey, G., Lurkin, V., and Bierlaire, M. (2018). SNM: Stochastic Newton Method for Optimization of Discrete Choice Models . Proceedings of the 21st IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems (IEEE ITSC'18) 4-7 November, 2018.
    • Bortolomiol, S., Lurkin, V., and Bierlaire, M. (2018). Modelling competition in demand-based optimization models. Proceedings of the 18th Swiss Transport Research Conference (STRC) 16-18 May, 2018.
    • Pacheco, M., Gendron, B., Lurkin, V., Sharif Azadeh, S., and Bierlaire, M. (2018). A Lagrangian relaxation technique for the demand-based benefit maximization problem. Proceedings of the 18th Swiss Transport Research Conference (STRC) 16-18 May, 2018.
    • Fernandez-Antolin, A., Lurkin, V., de Lapparent, M., and Bierlaire, M. (2017). Discrete-continuous maximum likelihood for the estimation of nested logit models. Proceedings of the 16th Swiss Transport Research Conference (STRC) 17-19 May, 2017.

    Technical reports

    Seminars

    Awards

    • Virginie Lurkin : ENAC Polysphère 2018, October 06, 2018. Institution: EPFL. Description: Every year, during the Graduation Ceremony, the students honour the best teacher of each school with an award called "Polysphère". This prize is the greatest award a professor can receive directly from students at EPFL.
    • Virginie Lurkin : Best Presentation Award at AGIFORS Scheduling and Strategic Planning Study Group meeting , May 18, 2017. Institution: The Airline Group of the International Federation of Operational Research Societies (AGIFORS) . Description: The Airline Group of the International Federation of Operational Research Societies (AGIFORS) is a professional society dedicated to the advancement and application of Operational Research within the airline industry. The membership consists of Operational Research professional employed by recognized civil airlines and related industries and correspondents keenly interested in the application of Operational Research to aviation problems.
    • Virginie Lurkin : Best Dissertation Prize, November 12, 2016. Institution: The Aviation Applications Section of INFORMS. Description: The Aviation Applications Section of INFORMS awards a prize for the best dissertation in any area related to aviation OR (air traffic management OR and airline OR).

    Reviewing

  • 4OR - A Quarterly Journal of Operations Research (1)
  • Computers & Industrial Engineering (1)
  • Computers & Operations Research (1)
  • Journal of Air Transport Management (1)
  • Journal of Choice Modelling (1)
  • Transportation Research Part B: Methodological (1)
  • Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review (1)

    • Total: 7 reviews for 7 journals (since 2004). Per year: 2018: 2, 2017: 5.

    Research projects

    Incorporating competitors' behavior in demand based optimization models
    Sponsor: Swiss National Science Foundation
    Team: Michel Bierlaire (PI), Virginie Lurkin (PM), Stefano Bortolomiol
    Period: November 01, 2017-October 31, 2020
    The starting point of this research project is the general framework developed in the SNF research project 200021_165636 entitled “Incorporating advanced behavioral models in mixed integer linear optimization”. The project aims at formulating explicitly the complex interaction between the supply and demand actors. We hypothesize that the decisions of supply actors (such as capacity, assortment, and price) are highly influenced by the decisions of other actors, through competition within the market. In this project, we will therefore explicitly consider multiple operators that compete for the same pool of customers. Each operator will take the supply-side decisions that optimize its performance function (e.g., maximization of revenue). Non-cooperative game theory is commonly used to model such oligopolistic competition. We plan to investigate how to integrate these games in the already developed framework. In this context, the objective will be to analyze the concept of equilibrium, that is, stationary states of the system where no actor has an incentive to change his/her decisions.
    Network Design for SBB Cargo
    Sponsor: Swiss Federal Railways (SBB)
    Team: Michel Bierlaire (PI), Nikola Obrenovic (PM), Virginie Lurkin (PM)
    Period: September 01, 2017-August 31, 2018
    This project aims at developing an algorithm for the overall design of SBB cargo’s network of bundling points. SBB Cargo operates a network of 2 marshaling yards, 65 shunting yards and about 350 of small bundling points. The operation as such is costly and the network might contain redundant bundling points. The overall interest of SBB Cargo is to minimize the operating cost of their network and to compare its performance to a better network, completely designed from scratch. The resulting framework is then planned to be used to improve the current network of SBB cargo and its future development. The main research challenge of this project is to incorporate the SBB Cargo needs into one model while taking into account the specifics of the railway network and its operation. The researchers from the Transport and Mobility Laboratory (TRANSP-OR) will develop a heuristic algorithm that gives as an output a complete network design based on the inputs (cargo demand, capacity, types and costs of different bundling points). The algorithm can be further adjusted by entering the already existing bundling points. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm will be tested thorough comparison with existing solutions. TRANSP-OR, led by prof. Michel Bierlaire, has a track record of successful projects of solving highly complex problems arising in industrial sector. This one-year project is sponsored by SBB-CFF-FFS.
    Cost reduction using passenger centric timetabling
    Sponsor: Swiss Federal Railways (SBB)
    Team: Michel Bierlaire (PI), Virginie Lurkin (PM)
    Period: September 01, 2017-August 31, 2018
    To design their timetables, train-operating companies mostly focus on operational aspects and cost. In Switzerland, a paradigm of transportation planning is to create regular-interval timetables (a.k.a. cyclic timetables) which aim for maximal transfer connections, simplicity and hence user friendlyness. SBB uses travel simulation models to predict the impact of timetable changes on travel demand and revenue. Mathematical timetable optimization methods are not yet used by SBB. But a recent EPFL thesis (2016) shows that the timetable itself has a significant impact on the performance of the operator in terms of the number of transported passengers: a timetable design that considers the behavior of passengers leads to higher revenue(s), market share(s), higher value of passenger-km etc. In this project, the aim is to use the optimization methods developed by the TRANSP-OR Lab consisting in combining cyclic and non-cyclic timetables and apply it to the Swiss Federal Railways’ timetable design. The goal is to evaluate the performance of the current Swiss interval timetable and to compare it to the optimal one. Suitability of hybrid timetables for the Swiss railway network will be investigated. This one-year project is carried out by the Transport and Mobility Laboratory, led by prof. Michel Bierlaire. TRANSP-OR has vast competence in modeling, optimization and simulation of transportation systems. The project is sponsored by SBB CFF FFS.
    myTOSA 2.0 - Enhanced simulation and optimization tool for cost-optimal deployment of TOSA electric buses
    Sponsor: Commission pour la technologie et de l'innovation, Office Fédéral de la formation professionnelle et de la technologie.
    Team: Michel Bierlaire (PI), Riccardo Scarinci (PM), Virginie Lurkin (PM), Shadi Sharif Azadeh, Yousef Maknoon
    Period: September 30, 2015-November 16, 2017
    The TOSA catenary-free electric bus system is the ABB response to the challenge of decreasing the environmental impact of public transportation. The project builds on the previous CTI project - myTOSA - and it aims to introduce new business analytics features and to improve the fidelity of the simulation and (robust) optimization modules used for a cost-optimal deployment of the TOSA charging infrastructure and component sizing.

    Regular teaching

    Introduction to optimization and operations research
    Year: Fall 2021
    Section(s): Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering
    Lecturer: Virginie Lurkin
    Teaching assistant: Nour Dougui, Negar Rezvany, Nicholas Molyneaux, Gael Lederrey
    Mathematical modeling of behavior
    Year: Fall 2021
    Section(s): Mathematics, Master in Financial Engineering
    Lecturer: Virginie Lurkin
    Teaching assistant: Melvin Wong, Silvia Varotto, Nicola Ortelli, Janody Pougala
    Webpage: https://moodle.epfl.ch/course/view.php?id=1001
    Decision-aid methodologies in transportation
    Year: Spring 2018
    Section(s): Civil Engineering
    Lecturers: Virginie Lurkin, Nikola Obrenovic
    Teaching assistant: Stefano Bortolomiol, Gael Lederrey
    Webpage: http://transp-or.epfl.ch/courses/decisionAid2018/index.php
    Introduction à l'optimisation et à la recherche opérationnelle
    Year: Fall 2017
    Section(s): Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering
    Lecturer: Michel Bierlaire
    Teaching assistant: Virginie Lurkin, Gael Lederrey, Nikola Obrenovic
    Webpage: http://transp-or.epfl.ch/courses/optimization2017/
    Decision-aid methodologies in transportation
    Year: Spring 2017
    Section(s): Civil Engineering
    Lecturers: Virginie Lurkin, Mor Kaspi
    Teaching assistant: Tomás Robenek, Stefan Binder, Iliya Markov, Meritxell Pacheco
    Webpage: http://moodle.epfl.ch/enrol/index.php?id=15132

    Project supervision

    Masters theses

    Salma Deruiche
    Section: Civil Engineering
    Demand based rolling stock allocation
    Supervision:Virginie Lurkin, Stefan Binder, Michel Bierlaire
    Expert: Simon Landureau
    20/02/2017-16/06/2017
    Elisabeth Zbinden
    Section: Civil Engineering
    Passenger's Connection Time Preferences in Airline Itinerary Choice
    Supervision:Virginie Lurkin, Matthieu de Lapparent, Michel Bierlaire
    Expert: Laurie Garrow
    20/02/2017-16/06/2017

    Semester projects

    • Cost Reduction Uisng Passenger Centric Timetabling, Robert Abboud (SMGT), June 29, 2018
    • Modelling competition in demand-based optimization models, Charlotte Darné (SMA), June 19, 2018
    • On the optimization of CAPEX and OPEX for the design of a full electric large capacity urban bus system, Guillaume Mollard (CSE), January 31, 2018
    • Planning of feeding station installment for a full electric large capacity urban bus system, Adrien Ruault (SIN), June 16, 2017
    • Speed profile of an innovative catenary-free electric bus, Valentin Axel Olivier & Nicolet Adrien (SGC), June 16, 2017
    • Passengers' connection time preferences in airline itinerary choice, Elisabeth Zbinden (SGC), December 23, 2016
    • Pricing and capacity allocation strategies for a demand-based revenues maximization problem, Jonathan Lachkar (SGC), December 23, 2016