The Zebra Mussel Problem
Background:
Zebra mussels, Dreissena polymorpha, are small, fingernail-sized, freshwater mollusks unintentionally intr…
Bank Robbers
Background:
The First National Bank has just been robbed (the position of the bank on the map is marked). The clerk pr…
Air traffic Control
Background:
Dedicated to the memory of Dr. Robert Machol, former chief scientist of the Federal Aviation Agency
To im…
Radio Channel Assignments
Background:
We seek to model the assignment of radio channels to a symmetric network of transmitter locations over a l…
Elephants: When is Enough, Enough?
Background:
"Ultimately, if a habitat is undesirably changed by elephants, then their removal should be considered -ev…
Traffic Lights
Background:
Major thoroughfares in big cities are usually highly congested. Traffic lights are used to allow cars to c…
Deep Impact
Background:
For some time, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has been considering the consequen…
Unlawful Assembly
Background:
Many public facilities have signs in rooms used for public gatherings which state that it is "unlawful" fo…
Ground Pollution
Background:
Several practically important but theoretically difficult mathematical problems pertain to the assessment…
The Scanner Problem
Background:
Industrial and medical diagnostic machines known as Magnetic Resonance Imagers
(MRI) scan a three-dimensi…
The Grade Inflation Problem
Background:
Some college administrators are concerned about the grading at A Better Class (ABC) college. On average, t…
The Velociraptor Problem
Background:
The velociraptor, Velociraptor mongoliensis, was a predator dinosaur that lived during the late Cretaceous…
Mix Well For Fruitful Discussions
Background:
Small group meetings are gaining popularity for the discussion of important issues, particularly long rang…
The Submarine Detection Problem
Background:
The world's oceans contain an ambient noise field. Seismic disturbances, surface shipping, and marine mamm…
The Contest Judging Problem
Background:
When determining the winner of a competition like the Mathematical Contest in Modeling, there is generally…
The Single Helix Problem
Background:
The problem consists of assisting a small biotechnological company in designing, proving, programming, and…
The Aluacha Balaclava College Problem
Background:
Aluacha Balaclava College has just hired a new Provost. Problems with faculty compensation at the college…
The Communications Network Problem
Background:
In your company, information is shared among departments on a daily basis. This information includes the p…
The Concrete Slab Problem
Background:
The U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is consider- ing constructing dwellings of various s…
The Coal-Tipple Operations Problem
Background:
The Aspen-Boulder Coal Company runs a loading facility consisting of a large coal tipple. When the coal tr…
The Optimal Composting Problem
Background:
An environmentally conscious institutional cafeteria is recycling customers’ uneaten food into compost by…
The Emergency Power- Restoration Problem
Background:
Power companies serving coastal regions must have emergency-response systems for power outages due to stor…
The Air-Traffic-Control Radar Problem
Background:
You are to determine the power to be radiated by an air-traffic-control radar at a major metropolitan airp…
The Steiner Tree Problem
Background:
The cost for a communication line between two stations is proportional to the length of the line. The cost…
The Water Tank Problem
Background:
Some state water-right agencies require from communities data on the rate of water use, in gallons per hou…
The Brain-Drug Problem
Background:
Researchers on brain disorders test the effects of the new medical drugs— for example, dopamine against Pa…
The Snowplow Problem
Background:
The solid lines of the map represent paved two-lane county roads in a snow-removal district in Wicomico Co…
The Midge Classification Problem
Background:
Two species of midges, Af and Apf, have been identified by biologists Grogan and Wirth [1981] on the basis…
The Aircraft Queueing Problem
Background:
A common procedure at airports is to assign aircraft (A/C) to runways on a first-come-first-served basis…
The Drug Runner Problem
Background:
Two listening posts 5.43 miles apart pick up a brief radio signal. The sensing devices were oriented at 11…
The Railroad Flatcar Problem
Background:
Two railroad flatcars are to be loaded with seven types of packing crates. The crates have the same width…
The Salt Storage Problem
Background:
For approximately 15 years, a Midwestern state has stored salt used on roads in the winter in circular dom…
The Parking Lot Problem
Background:
The owner of a paved, 100-ft-by-200-ft, corner parking lot in a New England town hires you to design the l…
The Hydrographic Data Problem
Background:
The table gives the depth Z of water in feet for surface points with rectangular coordinates X, Y in yards…
The Emergency-Facilities Location Problem
Background:
The township of Rio Rancho has hitherto not had its own emergency facilities. It has secured funds to erec…