Research

• REASON: Optimizing Health and Social Care Delivery in Rural Areas through Mobile Units. Main Researcher: Jésica de Armas. Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. 2024-2027
• ROAR-NET: Randomised Optimisation Algorithms Research Network. Action Chair: Carlos Fonseca. Management Committee. COST Action CA22137. 2023-2027
• Waste Recycling for Planeraty Wellbeing. Main researchers: Jésica de Armas, Jaume Garcia Villar. Planetary Wellbeing, UPF. 2021-2023
• Logistics Optimization of the Home Social Care Services. Industrial PhD. IP: Jésica de Armas; PhD student: Daniel Lopez Badell. Barcelona City Council (Institut Municipal de Serveis Socials) and AGAUR, Generalitat de Catalunya. 2020-2023
• EPHoCaS: The social urgency of a growing elderly population: Building sustainable home care services. Main researchers: Jésica de Armas. Social Research La Caixa. 2020-2022
• OptCareServices: Logistics Optimization for the Home Health and Social Care Services. Main researchers: Jésica de Armas & Helena Ramalhinho. Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness RTI2018-095197-B-I00. 2019-2022
• Red de Excelencia en Transporte, Logística, y Producción Inteligente. Main researcher: Angel A. Juan. Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. TRA2015-71883-REDT. 2016-2017
• ComputerCOOP: Computer-based decision support for Horizontal Cooperation in Transportation and Logistics. Main researchers: Angel A. Juan & Joan M. Marques. Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. TRA2013-48180-C3-3-P. 2014-2016
• SmartLogistics@IB: Red Iberoamericana de Logística Inteligente en la Gestión Sostenible del Transporte en Núcleos Urbanos. Main researcher: Javier Faulin. CYTED2014-P514RT0013. 2015-2018
• iTRANS. Development of an Intelligent System for Planning, Eco-efficient Management and Dynamic Transport Optimization. Main researcher: Belén Melián. Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce. TSI- 020100-2011-298.  2012
• TOP – Parallel Optimization Techniques. Hybridization of evolutionary and hyperheuristic computation. Main researcher: Coromoto León. Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. TIN2011-25448. 2011
• Multiobjective Metaheuristics and Engineering. Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. Main researcher: Coromoto León. TIN2008- 06491-C04-02. 2008

Work in progress

• A novel framework for surrogate-assisted continuous multi-objective optimization with uncertainty propagation: Application to molecule optimization for Alzheimer drug discovery
• Optimization for the refugees’ resettlement
• Operations Research for Rural Remote Areas
• Robust Solutions for the Ambulance Routing Problem in Disasters Response under Uncertain Travel Times.

Publications

• Impact of quality of service in the direct cost of integrated home care services. Health Systems. 2024. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/20476965.2024.2313465

• Optimizing an integrated home care problem: A heuristic-based decision-support system. Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence 2022. 14, 105062. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engappai.2022.105062

• Improving the accessibility to public schools in urban areas of developing countries through a location model and an analytical framework. PLOS ONE 2022. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262520

• Optimization of the Real-Time Response to Roadside Incidents through Heuristic and Linear Programming . Mathematics 9(16), 1982, 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/math9161982

• Optimizing Assistive Technology Operations for Aging Populations . Sustainability 13(12), 6925, 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su13126925

• Similarity in metaheuristics: a gentle step towards a comparison methodology. Natural Computing, 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11047-020-09837-9

• Health Care Needs and Services for Elderly and Disabled Populations. Findings from a Barcelona Study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 17(21), 8071, 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17218071

• Assessing the Distribution of Elderly Requiring Care: A Case Study on the Residents in Barcelona and the Impact of COVID-19. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 17(20), 7486, 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17207486

• Modeling human network behavior using simulation and optimization tools: the need for hybridization. SORT-Statistics and Operations Research Transactions. 43(2), 193-222. 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2436/20.8080.02.85

• Parallel machine, capacitated lot-sizing and scheduling for the pipe-insulation industry. International Journal of Production Research. 58(3), 800-817. 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2019.1600763 (Full text access)

• A Multi-Stage Approach for the Transshipment of Import Containers at Maritime Container Terminals. IET Intelligent Transport Systems. 2018.  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1049/iet-its.2018.5147

• Combining variable neighborhood search with simulation for the inventory routing problem with stochastic demands and stock-outs. Computers & Industrial Engineering. 123, 278-288. 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cie.2018.06.036

• A Two-Stage Biased-Randomized Iterated Local Search for the Uncapacitated Single-Allocation p-Hub Median Problem. Transactions on Emerging Telecommunications Technologies. 2018.  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ett.3418

• A Variable Neighborhood Search Simheuristic for the Multi-Period Inventory Routing Problem with Stochastic Demands. International Transactions in Operational Research. 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/itor.12540

• Benefits of robust multiobjective optimization for flexible automotive assembly line balancing. Flexible Services and Manufacturing Journal. 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10696-018-9309-y

• Modeling and Solving the Non-Smooth Arc Routing Problem with Realistic Soft Constraints. Expert Systems with Applications. 98, 205-220. 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2018.01.020

• Solving Large-Scale Time Capacitated Arc Routing Problems: from real-time heuristics to metaheuristics. Annals of Operations Research. 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-018-2777-3

• Metaheuristics in Telecommunication Systems: network design, routing and allocation problems. IEEE Systems Journal, 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/JSYST.2017.2788053

• Multi criteria biased randomized method for resource allocation in distributed systems: Application in a volunteer computing system. Future Generation Computer Systems. 82, 29-40, 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.future.2017.11.039

• Biased Randomization of Heuristics: supporting real-time decision making in transportation, logistics, and production. Computers & Industrial Engineering. 110, 216-228, 2017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cie.2017.06.019

• Statistical and machine learning approaches for the minimization of trigger errors in parametric earthquake catastrophe bonds. SORT-Statistics and Operations Research Transactions, 41 (2), 1-20. 2017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2436/20.8080.02.64

• Learnheuristics: hybridizing metaheuristics with machine learning for optimization problems with dynamic inputs. Open Mathematics. 15(1). pp. 261-280. 2017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/math-2017-0029

• Solving the deterministic and stochastic uncapacitated facility location problem: from a heuristic to a simheuristic. Journal of Operational Research Society. 68(10), 1161-1176. 2017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41274-016-0155-6

• A multi-start randomized heuristic for real-life crew rostering problems in airlines with work-balancing goals. Annals of Operations Research, 258(2), 825-848. 2017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-016-2260-y

• Electric Vehicles in Logistics and Transportation: A Survey on Emerging Environmental, Strategic, and Operational Challenges. Energies, 9, 86, 2016. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/en9020086

• A Heuristic Algorithm based on an Improvement Strategy to Exploit Idle Time Periods for the Stacking Problem. Computers & Industrial Engineering. 87, pp. 410 – 424. 2015. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cie.2015.05.030

• A Hybrid GRASP-VNS for Ship Routing and Scheduling Problem with Discretized Time Windows. Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence. 45, pp. 350-360, 2015. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engappai.2015.07.013

• Variable Neighborhood Search for a Dynamic Rich Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows. Computers & Industrial Engineering. 85, pp. 120 – 131. 2015. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cie.2015.03.006

• Multi-Leader Migrating Birds Optimization. International Journal of Bio-Inspired Computation.  2017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1504/IJBIC.2017.085890

• GVNS for a Real-World Rich Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows. Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence. 42, pp. 45 – 56. 2015. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engappai.2015.03.009

• Constrained Dynamic Vehicle Routing Problems with Time Windows. Soft Computing. 19 – 9, pp. 2481 – 2498. 06/01/2015. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00500-014-1574-4

• Improving the efficiency of a best-first bottom-up approach for the constrained 2D cutting problem. European Journal of Operational Research. 219 – 0, pp. 201 – 213. 2012. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2011.11.002

• Optimisation of a multi-objective two- dimensional strip packing problem based on evolutionary algorithms. International Journal of Production Research. 48 – 7, pp. 2011 – 2028. 2009. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00207540902729926