Operations Research and Analytics
Design, prototype, test, break, improve. That’s the tried-and-true engineering model — for things like cars and planes. But some systems are so big and complex — a series of interdependent hydroelectric dams or miles of highway full of fast-moving autonomous cars, for example — that prototypes are not practical or cost-effective. Typical challenges our Operations Research and Analytics researchers take on involve systems within systems that must work together seamlessly. Our researchers use the latest tools in systems modeling and data analytics, including machine learning and artificial intelligence, optimization, stochastic processes, and discrete-event and agent-based simulation.
Our faculty are experts in developing tools that simulate real-world infrastructure or applications to understand how component parts integrate to perform as a whole, as well as how to analyze and continually improve performance in real time once a system is operational. Working with such partners as the Port of Virginia and the Department of Defense, our faculty discover innovative ways to improve the structures of society that profoundly affect our economic and social well-being, from the manufacture and distribution of goods and services to national security.
Operations Research and Analytics Faculty
Donald E. Brown
Dr. Brown is Founding Director of the Data Science Institute, the W.S. Calcott Professor in the Systems and Information Engineering Department and Co-Director of the Translational Health Institute of Virginia, University of Virginia.
Alfredo Garcia
Alfredo Garcia is Professor and Chair of Systems and Information Engineering at UVA. His research studies how interacting decision-makers — people, organizations, and AI agents — learn, respond to incentives, and can be designed to work well together, from electricity markets and networks to aligning AI with human feedback.
Roman Krzysztofowicz
Roman Krzysztofowicz develops theories and models for probabilistic forecasting and optimal decision making under uncertainty. His book on the Bayesian Forecast-Decision Theory offers a framework for the design and analysis of forecast-decision systems.
James H. Lambert
Dr. James H. Lambert's interests are systems engineering and risk analysis, with a focus on disruption and resilience of system orders, and applications in systems security and trust with embedded computing devices. He is a Fellow of the AAAS, IEEE, ASCE, and SRA and received the 2025 SRA Richard J. Burk Distinguished Service Award.
Garrick Louis
Garrick Louis is Professor of Engineering and Societ and Professor of Systems and Information Engineering at the University of Virginia. He is director of the Small Infrastructure and Development Center and chairs the Community, Engagement, and Opportunity (CEO) committee in the Department of Systems and Information Engineering.
B. Brian Park
Brian Park is a Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Department of Systems and Information Engineering at the University of Virginia. His research focuses on improving the efficiency of surface transportation systems via connected automated vehicle controls, traffic operations and management strategies.
Henning S. Mortveit
Henning Mortveit is an associate professor at the Department of Systems and Information Engineering. He received his doctorate in mathematics from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in 2000. Before joining UVA, he was a technical staff member at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and an associate professor at Virginia Tech.
Julianne Quinn
Quinn's research focuses on optimization and simulation methods used to inform the design and management of water resources systems with the goals of protecting people from nature (floods and droughts), and nature from people (pollution and consumption). She is interested in how advanced sensing and forecasting techniques inform this optimization.
Hongru Du's research integrates systems engineering, artificial intelligence, and public health to develop AI-driven and computational frameworks that support data-informed health decision-making. He focuses on modeling human–disease interactions and improving the resilience and efficiency of health systems.
Daniel Otero-León
His research develops data-driven decision models for disease prevention, cancer management, and healthcare logistics to improve patient outcomes and health system efficiency.
Reid Bailey
Reid Bailey is an engineering educator, designer, and scholar focused on engineering design education, systems thinking and analysis, & sustainability.
Matthew Burkett
Matt Burkett joined the University of Virginia faculty in 2022 after holding several positions in the private sector as the Vice President of Research for the investment firm, LOC Advisers, and as a Senior Director for Data & Analytics at the Ankura Consulting Group.
James W. Lark, III
James W. Lark is Associate Professor, Academic General Faculty in the Center for Applied Mathematics and Dept. of Systems and Information Engineering, as well as Affiliated Faculty, Dept. of Statistics. He recieved his B.S. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1977 and Ph.D. from UVA in 1990.
Robert Riggs
Jennifer Mason Lobo
Dr. Lobo’s research interests involve using mathematical modeling and stochastic optimization methods to build models that simulate the natural course of disease. This allows for estimation of outcomes under different screening and treatment policies and can be used to optimize screening and treatment decisions for patients with chronic diseases.
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