Dr Michael Forbes
Dr

Michael Forbes

Email: 
Phone: 
+61 7 336 53807

Background

Dr Forbes has an extensive background in applying optimisation methods to industrial problems. He spent over 20 years working in industry before returning to academia in 2010. Dr Forbes now focuses on building Mixed Integer Programming models for industrial applications and specialised techniques for solving difficult Mixed Integer Programming models.

Dr Forbes has experience in many application areas including

  • vehicle routing;
  • supply chain optimisation;
  • mine planning;
  • public transport vehicle and crew scheduling and rostering (buses, trains and planes);
  • hospital staff scheduling and rostering, including operation scheduling and room allocation;
  • power generation and planning;
  • network design (communications, electricity, gas, water);
  • maintenance scheduling.

Availability

Dr Michael Forbes is:
Available for supervision

Fields of research

Applied mathematics Information and Computing Sciences Mathematical Sciences Numerical computation and mathematical software Operations research Theory of computation

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland

Research interests

  • Combining Dantzig-Wolfe and Benders Decomposition

    Dantzig-Wolfe decomposition is relatively straightforward to apply when all composite variables can be enumerated. However, this is often not the case. Instead we can enumerate variables corresponding to the solution of some smaller subproblem and have a more complex master problem that joins them. This often entails the use of Benders decomposition to solve the master problem. This technique has been successfully applied to a number of vehicle routing problems. My team is investigating how to apply the techique to other areas. Honours and HDR projects are available.

  • Multi-objective robust mine planning

    Traditional mine planning has focussed on economic objectives (e.g. maximum profit) and assumed the data is deterministic. More realistically, multiple objectives should be considered, including profit, environmental impact and social impact. Additionally, the underlying uncertainty of the data (cost of mining, selling price of ore, ore grade, etc) should be considered so that solutions are robust across many scenarios. This research looks to acheive these outcomes. Honours and HDR projects are available.

  • No overlap constraints

    No overlap constraints are powerful constraints used by Constraint Programming engines such as Google's OR-Tools. On many scheduling problems they substantially outperform equivalent Mixed Integer Programming (MIP) models. This research will look at the implementation of no overlap constraints to decide if it can be understood as a classical MIP extension (e.g. Logic Based Benders Decomposition) and implemented more directly using a MIP solver. An Honours project is available.

  • Optimal tanglegrams

    A tanglegram is a pair of trees on the same set of leaves with matching leaves in the two trees joined by an edge. Tanglegrams are widely used in biology to compare evolutionary histories of host and parasite species and to analyze genes of species in the same geographical area. The problem arises as to how to sort the trees so as to minimise various objectives relating to edges crossing or edge length. New formulations and solution techniques may be possible. An Honours project is available.

Research impacts

Dr Forbes' work has had practical impact in many areas.

  • His early work on vehicle scheduling for public transport is still widely cited and the basic approach is used in many implementations.
  • Algorithms he initially developed are still the mainstay of rail journey planning in many countries, especially the UK.
  • He holds a patent for fibre optic network design using integer programming. Versions of the algorithms described in the this patent are used to design fibre optic networks around the world, including for the NBN in Australia.

Search Professor Michael Forbes’s works on UQ eSpace

27 works between 1991 and 2025
All (27) Journal Article (25) Conference Publication (2)

1 - 20 of 27 works

Featured

2024

Journal Article

Optimal phylogenetic reconstruction of insertion and deletion events

Tule, Sanjana, Foley, Gabriel, Zhao, Chongting, Forbes, Michael and Bodén, Mikael (2024). Optimal phylogenetic reconstruction of insertion and deletion events. Bioinformatics, 40 (s1), i277-i286. doi: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btae254

Optimal phylogenetic reconstruction of insertion and deletion events

Featured

2023

Journal Article

Combining optimisation and simulation using logic based benders decomposition

Forbes, M. A., Harris, M.G., Jansen, H.M., van der Schoot, F.A. and Taimre, T. (2023). Combining optimisation and simulation using logic based benders decomposition. European Journal of Operational Research, 312 (3), 840-854. doi: 10.1016/j.ejor.2023.07.032

Combining optimisation and simulation using logic based benders decomposition

Featured

2021

Journal Article

A new formulation for the dial-a-ride problem

Rist, Yannik and Forbes, Michael A. (2021). A new formulation for the dial-a-ride problem. Transportation Science, 55 (5), 1113-1135. doi: 10.1287/trsc.2021.1044

A new formulation for the dial-a-ride problem

Featured

2019

Journal Article

An exact algorithm for the pickup and delivery problem with time windows and last-in-first-out loading

Alyasiry, Ali Mehsin, Forbes, Michael and Bulmer, Michael (2019). An exact algorithm for the pickup and delivery problem with time windows and last-in-first-out loading. Transportation Science, 53 (6) trsc.2019.0905, 1695-1705. doi: 10.1287/trsc.2019.0905

An exact algorithm for the pickup and delivery problem with time windows and last-in-first-out loading

Featured

2015

Journal Article

Optimizing network designs for the world's largest broadband project

Ferris, Peter, Forbes, Chris, Forbes, Joe, Forbes, Michael and Kennedy, Paul (2015). Optimizing network designs for the world's largest broadband project. Interfaces, 45 (1), 83-97. doi: 10.1287/inte.2014.0785

Optimizing network designs for the world's largest broadband project

Featured

2006

Journal Article

Vehicle routing and crew scheduling for metropolitan mail distribution at Australia Post

Hollis, BL, Forbes, MA and Douglas, BE (2006). Vehicle routing and crew scheduling for metropolitan mail distribution at Australia Post. European Journal of Operational Research, 173 (1), 133-150. doi: 10.1016/j.ejor.2005.01.005

Vehicle routing and crew scheduling for metropolitan mail distribution at Australia Post

Featured

1994

Journal Article

An Exact Algorithm for Multiple Depot Bus Scheduling

Forbes, MA, Holt, JN and Watts, AM (1994). An Exact Algorithm for Multiple Depot Bus Scheduling. European Journal of Operational Research, 72 (1), 115-124. doi: 10.1016/0377-2217(94)90334-4

An Exact Algorithm for Multiple Depot Bus Scheduling

2025

Journal Article

Algorithms for pickup and delivery problems with hours of service constraints

Sippel, Lucas, Forbes, Michael A. and Menesch, Joseph (2025). Algorithms for pickup and delivery problems with hours of service constraints. Computers and Operations Research, 183 107123, 107123-183. doi: 10.1016/j.cor.2025.107123

Algorithms for pickup and delivery problems with hours of service constraints

2025

Journal Article

Queen puzzles: an educational approach to integer programming techniques

DiMichele, Natalie and Forbes, Michael (2025). Queen puzzles: an educational approach to integer programming techniques. INFORMS Transactions on Education ited.2024.0122, 1-7. doi: 10.1287/ited.2024.0122

Queen puzzles: an educational approach to integer programming techniques

2025

Journal Article

A novel strategic planning and sequencing optimisation model for Fully Mobile In-Pit Crusher Conveyor (FMIPCC) systems

Cheng (Jack), Yingyi, Nehring, Micah, Forbes, Michael, Kizil, Mehmet and Knights, Peter (2025). A novel strategic planning and sequencing optimisation model for Fully Mobile In-Pit Crusher Conveyor (FMIPCC) systems. International Journal of Mining, Reclamation and Environment, ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print), 1-18. doi: 10.1080/17480930.2025.2520846

A novel strategic planning and sequencing optimisation model for Fully Mobile In-Pit Crusher Conveyor (FMIPCC) systems

2024

Journal Article

Benders decomposition with delayed disaggregation for the active passive vehicle routing problem

Rist, Yannik, Tilk, Christian and Forbes, Michael (2024). Benders decomposition with delayed disaggregation for the active passive vehicle routing problem. European Journal of Operational Research, 318 (3), 836-850. doi: 10.1016/j.ejor.2024.05.041

Benders decomposition with delayed disaggregation for the active passive vehicle routing problem

2024

Journal Article

The value of drilling-a chance-constrained optimization approach

Jeuken, Rick and Forbes, Michael (2024). The value of drilling-a chance-constrained optimization approach. Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, 41 (5), 2279-2289. doi: 10.1007/s42461-024-01061-8

The value of drilling-a chance-constrained optimization approach

2023

Journal Article

Logic-based benders decomposition for wildfire suppression

Harris, Mitchell G., Forbes, Michael A. and Taimre, Thomas (2023). Logic-based benders decomposition for wildfire suppression. Computers & Operations Research, 160 106392, 106392. doi: 10.1016/j.cor.2023.106392

Logic-based benders decomposition for wildfire suppression

2023

Journal Article

The Snake Eggs puzzle: preparing students for Benders decomposition

Harris, Mitchell and Forbes, Michael (2023). The Snake Eggs puzzle: preparing students for Benders decomposition. INFORMS Transactions on Education, 23 (3), 210-217. doi: 10.1287/ited.2023.0281

The Snake Eggs puzzle: preparing students for Benders decomposition

2022

Journal Article

A column generation and Combinatorial Benders Decomposition algorithm for the selective Dial-A-Ride-Problem

Rist, Yannik and Forbes, Michael (2022). A column generation and Combinatorial Benders Decomposition algorithm for the selective Dial-A-Ride-Problem. Computers and Operations Research, 140 105649, 105649. doi: 10.1016/j.cor.2021.105649

A column generation and Combinatorial Benders Decomposition algorithm for the selective Dial-A-Ride-Problem

2020

Journal Article

Robust risk-averse unit commitment with solar PV systems

Raygani, Saeid Veysi, Forbes, Michael and Martin, Daniel (2020). Robust risk-averse unit commitment with solar PV systems. IET Renewable Power Generation, 14 (15), 2966-2975. doi: 10.1049/iet-rpg.2019.1489

Robust risk-averse unit commitment with solar PV systems

2020

Journal Article

Optimal blending strategies for coking coal using chance constraints

Jeuken, Rick, Forbes, Michael and Kearney, Michael (2020). Optimal blending strategies for coking coal using chance constraints. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 72 (12), 2690-2703. doi: 10.1080/01605682.2020.1811167

Optimal blending strategies for coking coal using chance constraints

2019

Journal Article

Disaggregated benders decomposition for solving a network maintenance scheduling problem

Pearce, Robin H. and Forbes, Michael (2019). Disaggregated benders decomposition for solving a network maintenance scheduling problem. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 70 (6), 941-953. doi: 10.1080/01605682.2018.1471374

Disaggregated benders decomposition for solving a network maintenance scheduling problem

2018

Journal Article

Disaggregated Benders decomposition and branch-and-cut for solving the budget-constrained dynamic uncapacitated facility location and network design problem

Pearce, Robin H. and Forbes, Michael (2018). Disaggregated Benders decomposition and branch-and-cut for solving the budget-constrained dynamic uncapacitated facility location and network design problem. European Journal of Operational Research, 270 (1), 78-88. doi: 10.1016/j.ejor.2018.03.021

Disaggregated Benders decomposition and branch-and-cut for solving the budget-constrained dynamic uncapacitated facility location and network design problem

2017

Journal Article

Monte-Carlo Tree Search in Dragline Operation Planning

Liu, Haoquan, Austin, Kevin, Forbes, Michael and Kearney, Michael (2017). Monte-Carlo Tree Search in Dragline Operation Planning. IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 3 (1) 8053797, 419-425. doi: 10.1109/LRA.2017.2757964

Monte-Carlo Tree Search in Dragline Operation Planning

Current funding

  • 2023 - 2027
    Analytics for the Australian Grains Industry (AAGI)
    Grains Research & Development Corporation
    Open grant

Availability

Dr Michael Forbes is:
Available for supervision

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Supervision history

Current supervision

Completed supervision

Enquiries

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