Speaker: Elsa Marília Costa Silvai – University of Minho

Elsa Silva is an Assistant Professor in the Production and Systems Department at the University of Minho and a researcher at the ALGORITMI Research Centre / LASI, where she coordinates the Systems Engineering and Operational Research (SEOR) group. Before joining UMinho as faculty, she was a researcher at INESC TEC, where she developed optimisation models and decision-support tools for industrial and logistics applications. Her research lies in Operations Research and Management Science, with a focus on large-scale combinatorial optimisation, particularly Cutting and Packing problems and their integration with logistics, transportation, and manufacturing planning. Her work combines mathematical programming and heuristic methods to address complex real-world optimisation problems.

Abstract:

Cutting and Packing problems have traditionally been evaluated through space utilisation and waste minimisation. However, real-world industrial and logistics applications demand models that go beyond geometry, incorporating modelling flexibility, physical stability, road safety, and technological feasibility.

This talk illustrates that shift through a series of optimisation models. In cutting, the Floating-Cuts paradigm offers a flexible Mixed-Integer Linear Programming approach to guillotine and non-guillotine patterns, while the home textile industry motivates a Variable-Sized Cutting Stock Problem balancing material use and production flow. In packing and loading, interlocking constraints improve pallet stability, Load Distribution Diagrams ensure compliance with axle weight regulations, and matheuristic approaches integrate routing and loading under time windows and LIFO requirements. Finally, nesting for Sequential Printing Mode in Fused Deposition Modelling introduces dynamic collision risks as a new optimisation challenge.

Together, these examples show how optimisation can bridge theoretical geometric models and operational decision-support tools.

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SEMINAR: WED 16 SEPTEMBER 2026 4.00PM-5.00PM (AEST, Melbourne Time)