Robert Milligan
Monash University
I am a first year PhD student at Monash University in Clayton. I am investigating the performance of public transport services in particular the Melbourne tram network and how these services can be optimised looking at a passenger level. My research will help to guide operators of public transport systems to improve passenger
experience, mainly punctuality, reliability and responsiveness to unplanned disruptions. Unplanned disruptions can range from a tram not being available at a certain time to a specific piece of track being blocked for a period of time. Operators optimise these metrics usually on a per vehicle basis but not on a per passenger basis which is explored in my research. Moreover I am investigating novel scheduling or optimisation methods related to disruption management as well as how we can plan and optimise for best outcomes regarding semi-planned disruptions such as track maintenance causing a piece of track to be inoperable for a portion of the day.
Give me a quick overview of the type of mathematics you are studying, and/or the aims of your research and its potential applications/outcomes (how you would explain your work and studies to friends who don’t study maths?)
Specifically I am looking at operations research, the aims of my research are to formulate and test novel methods for scheduling and optimising public transport networks. Its application may lead to changes of daily operations at my Industry Partner Yarra Trams. Hundreds of decisions are made at Yarra Trams each day regarding making variations to tram timetables but decisions and models can be developed to suggest what are the best responses to various unexpected events.
How did you get into the mathematical sciences? Was there someone or something that inspired you to this field?
My undergraduate background was in computer and data science, previous projects I have worked on have been in computational modelling such as agent-based models. I have enjoyed projects that have a real-world impact. It interested me to look at a project that attempts to directly recommend better responses to hard decisions that are made each day and has a real world impact.
Winter School is designed to give students a deeper understanding of their area of research and expose them to others working in different fields/industries. Tell me about your Winter School experience. What was the most valuable part of the program for you?
My winter school experience was very good, in particular I enjoyed being exposed to areas that I have not been exposed to before. In particular Jason Sharples presentation was very interesting as he similarly deals in real world projects with stochastic unexpected events.
What was your main take away/s from AMSI-MATRIX Winter School? Something you learnt? A connection you made? Do you have new ideas for your work/research or see it in a new light?
One new thing I learnt that I will incorporate in my research is how I can use robust and stochastic optimisation to make my models be resilient and be able to deal with the worst possible case as well as dealing with a variety of differences experienced day to day such as travel times.
You received a grant to attend AMSI-MATRIX Winter School. How important was this in terms of your ability to attend, fully participate in the program and meet others studying in similar fields?
The grant was very important to attend as the event was across two weeks and provided accommodation was vital to making attendance viable.
What advice would you give to someone who is considering applying for Winter School? How would you describe the conference to them?
I would recommend they look at the topic of the talks to see if they are relevant. The conference consists of a series of lectures and tutorials each day and is very intensive covering the content of about two advanced units in only two weeks
Where do you want the mathematical sciences to take you? Where do you see yourself in five, ten years time?
I would like the mathematical sciences to help me in how I make computer models/simulations. In 5-10 years time I see myself working in public transport, logistics or somewhere else in industry that deals with mathematical models for planning.
Any other feedback/comments you would like to provide on the travel grant or AMSI-MATRIX Winter School?
The winter school was good as a conference designed for early researchers as most attendants were at the same part of their journey and we could relate to each other with similar experiences