TY - GEN A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Grötschel, Martin A1 - Löbel, Andreas T1 - Optimization of Transportation Systems N2 - The world has experienced two hundred years of unprecedented advances in vehicle technology, transport system development, and traffic network extension. Technical progress continues but seems to have reached some limits. Congestion, pollution, and increasing costs have created, in some parts of the world, a climate of hostility against transportation technology. Mobility, however, is still increasing. What can be done? There is no panacea. Interdisciplinary cooperation is necessary, and we are going to argue in this paper that {\em Mathematics\/} can contribute significantly to the solution of some of the problems. We propose to employ methods developed in the {\em Theory of Optimization\/} to make better use of resources and existing technology. One way of optimization is better planning. We will point out that {\em Discrete Mathematics\/} provides a suitable framework for planning decisions within transportation systems. The mathematical approach leads to a better understanding of problems. Precise and quantitative models, and advanced mathematical tools allow for provable and reproducible conclusions. Modern computing equipment is suited to put such methods into practice. At present, mathematical methods contribute, in particular, to the solution of various problems of {\em operational planning}. We report about encouraging {\em results\/} achieved so far. T3 - ZIB-Report - SC-98-09 KW - Transportation Systems KW - Optimization KW - Discrete Mathematics Y1 - 1998 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-3529 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Grötschel, Martin A1 - Löbel, Andreas T1 - Der Schnellste Weg zum Ziel N2 - Wir geben eine Einführung in die Mathematik von und mit Wegen. Nicht auf dem kürzesten, aber auf einem hoffentlich kurzweiligen Weg! T3 - ZIB-Report - SC-99-32 KW - Kürzeste Wege KW - Kombinatorische Optimierung KW - Operations Research Y1 - 1999 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-4209 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Grötschel, Martin A1 - Löbel, Andreas T1 - The Quickest Path to the Goal N2 - We provide an introduction into the mathematics of and with paths. Not on the shortest, but hopefully on an entertaining path! T3 - ZIB-Report - 10-21 KW - shortest paths KW - combinatorial optimization KW - operations research Y1 - 2010 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-11840 SN - 1438-0064 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Grötschel, Martin A1 - Löbel, Andreas T1 - Alcuin's Transportation Problems and Integer Programming N2 - The need to solve {\it transportation problems\/} was and still is one of the driving forces behind the development of the mathematical disciplines of graph theory, optimization, and operations research. Transportation problems seem to occur for the first time in the literature in the form of the four ''River Crossing Problems'' in the book Propositiones ad acuendos iuvenes. The {\it Propositiones\/} ---the oldest collection of mathematical problems written in Latin--- date back to the $8$th century A.D. and are attributed to Alcuin of York, one of the leading scholars of his time, a royal advisor to Charlemagne at his Frankish court. Alcuin's river crossing problems had no impact on the development of mathematics. However, they already display all the characteristics of today's large-scale real transportation problems. From our point of view, they could have been the starting point of combinatorics, optimization, and operations research. We show the potential of Alcuin's problems in this respect by investigating his problem~18 about a wolf, a goat and a bunch of cabbages with current mathematical methods. This way, we also provide the reader with a leisurely introduction into the modern theory of integer programming. T3 - ZIB-Report - SC-95-27 Y1 - 1995 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-1932 ER -