Shane G. Henderson Professor and Interim Director School of Operations Research and Information Engineering Cornell University 230 Rhodes Hall Ithaca, NY 14853 (607) 255-9126 - phone (607) 255-9129 - fax email: Antispam link

I use analytical methods to help make better decisions. For example, my work has been used to help decide where and when to place ambulances to keep response times small. Click here for some TV coverage. It has been used to help in designing yachts to compete in the America's Cup. It has helped fire departments in their long-term planning. In a kind of technical hobby I even analyze some aspects of the game of Monopoly. My general field is called Operations Research. You can find out more here. That information is supplied by INFORMS, which is one of the professional organizations involved with Operations Research.

Research Interests

My overall professional goal is to contribute to both research and learning in the theory and application of stochastic simulation and applied probability, with emphasis on the interface between these areas and optimization.

Primarily my research interests lie in discrete-event simulation, from input analysis (for example, extension of simple input models to capture correlation between inputs) to output analysis (for example, using martingales in simulation to achieve variance reduction).

An emphasis in my work is the interplay between optimization and simulation. In particular, I am interested in structured simulation optimization, where the optimization problem enjoys certain properties, like convexity or quasi convexity, that one can exploit to develop algorithms that are robust and fast. Specific applications in this area include radiation treatment planning, call center planning, yacht match racing, ambulance deployment, and adaptive Monte Carlo.

Shane G. Henderson is a professor in the School of Operations Research and Industrial Engineering at Cornell University. He has previously held positions in the Department of Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan and the Department of Engineering Science at the University of Auckland. He is the simulation area editor for Operations Research, and an associate editor for both the ACM Transactions on Modeling and Computer Simulation, and Operations Research Letters. His research interests include discrete-event simulation, simulation optimization, and emergency services planning. He likes cats but is allergic to them. He also likes rock climbing, and is not allergic to rocks. He has 2 gorgeous daughters and a gorgeous wife, and is completely unbiased in this assessment.