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Hande Benson, PhD

Director, PhD Program, Professor

Decision Sciences and MIS

Headshot of Hande Benson
Contact:
215.895.6999
hvb22@drexel.edu

Gerri C. LeBow Hall 743

Biography

Hande Benson is a Professor in the Department of Decision Sciences and MIS. She serves as academic director of the College’s Business and Engineering program and teaches in the undergraduate and graduate programs in Business Analytics and Operations and Supply Chain Management.

Dr. Benson received her Ph.D. in Operations Research and Financial Engineering from Princeton University and continued as a postdoctoral fellow for the Princeton Environmental Institute. She joined Drexel after faculty positions at Rutgers University and the United States Naval Academy. Throughout her career, she has consulted for numerous financial firms, the production industry, and local governments, and she is a core faculty member for LeBow’s Corporate and Executive Education programs.

Dr. Benson’s research interests are in optimization, particularly in addressing modeling and computational challenges for large-scale optimization problems. She is a co-developer of the popular optimization software LOQO, and her research group has recently released the Matlab-based optimizer MILANO.

Areas of Expertise

  • Nonlinear Optimization
  • Interior-Point Methods
  • Mathematical Programming
  • Large-Scale Optimization
  • Optimization Software
  • Portfolio Optimization
  • Operations and Supply Chain Optimization
  • Operations Research

Selected Works

Articles

Abichandani, Pramod, Benson, H. Y., and Kam, Moshe, Mathematical Programming Approaches for Multi-Vehicle Motion Planning: Linear, Nonlinear, and Mixed Integer Programming. Foundations and Trends in Robotics 2 (Nov 2013):pp. 261-338.

Benson, H. Y., Mixed Integer Nonlinear Programming Using Interior-Point Methods. Optimization Methods and Software 26 (Dec 2011):911-931.

Benson, H. Y., and Shanno, D. F., Interior-Point Methods for Nonconvex Nonlinear Programming: Regularization and Warmstarts. Computational Optimization and Applications 40 (Jun 2008):143-189.

Griva, Igor, Shanno, D. F., Vanderbei, R. J., and Benson, H. Y., Global Convergence of a Primal-Dual Interior-Point Method for Nonlinear Programming. Algorithmic Operations Research 3 (Mar 2008):12-19.

Benson, H. Y., and Shanno, David F., An Exact Primal-Dual Penalty Method Approach to Warmstarting Interior-Point Methods for Linear Programming. Computational Optimization and Applications 38 (Dec 2007):371-399.

Benson, H. Y., Sen, A., Shanno, D. F., and Vanderbei, R. J., Interior-Point Algorithms, Penalty Methods, and Equilibrium Problems. Computational Optimization and Applications 34 (Jun 2006):155-182.

Benson, H. Y., Shanno, D. F., and Vanderbei, R. J., Interior-Point Methods for Nonconvex Nonlinear Programming: Jamming and Comparative Numerical Testing. Mathematical Programming 99 (Jan 2005):35-48.

Benson, H. Y., and Vanderbei, R. J., Solving Problems with Semidefinite and Related Constraints Using Interior-Point Methods for Nonlinear Programming. Mathematical Programming 95 (Feb 2003):279-302.

Benson, H. Y., Shanno, D. F., and Vanderbei, R. J., Interior-Point Methods for Nonconvex NonlinearProgramming: Filter Methods and Merit Functions. Computational Optimization and Applications 23 (Nov 2002):257-272.

Benson, H. Y., Shanno, D. F., and Vanderbei, R. J., Interior-Point Methods for Nonconvex Nonlinear Programming: Complementarity Constraints. (Sep 2002).

Benson, H. Y., and Vanderbei, R. J., On Formulating Semidefinite Programming Problems as Smooth Convex Nonlinear Optimization Problems. Technical Report ORFE 1999-01. (Sep 1999).

Benson, H. Y., Vanderbei, R. J., and Yurttan, H., Using LOQO to Solve Second-Order Cone Programming Problems. Technical Report SOR-98-09. (Sep 1998).

Chapters

Benson, H. Y., “Interior-Point LP Solvers.” Encyclopedia of Operations Research and Management Science, Ed. James J. Cochran. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, (2011): .

Benson, H. Y., “A Comparative Study of Large Scale Nonlinear Optimization Algorithms.” High Performance Algorithms and Software for Nonlinear Optimization, Ed. G. Di Pillo and A. Murli. Massachusetts, USA: Kluwer Academic Publishers, (2003): :94-126.

Presented Research

Runk, Nathan, and Benson, H. Y., Decentralized Motion Planning of Multiple Quadr…, INFORMS Optimization Society Conference: Greenville, SC, (Mar 2022):

Benson, H. Y., Shanno, D. F., and Buhler, Cassidy, Regularized Step Directions in Conjugate Gradie…, INFORMS Annual Meeting 2021: Anaheim, CA, (Oct 2021):

Benson, H. Y., MILANO: Mixed-Integer Linear and Nonlinear Opti…, SIAM Conference on Optimization: Darmstadt, Germany, (May 2011):

Benson, H. Y., Abichandani, Pramod, and Kam, Moshe, Decentralized Cooperative Multi-Vehicle Path Co…, GERAD/MITACS Seminar Series, Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal: Montreal, Canada, (Mar 2011):

Benson, H. Y., MILANO: Mixed-Integer Linear and Nonlinear Opti…, INFORMS Annual Meeting: Austin, TX, (Nov 2010):

Benson, H. Y., Sen, A., and Shanno, D. F., Convergence Analysis of an Interior-Point Metho…, INFORMS Annual Meeting: San Diego, CA, (Oct 2009):

Benson, H. Y., Sen, A., and Shanno, D. F., Interior-Point Algorithms, Penalty Methods, and…, INFORMS Annual Meeting: San Diego, CA, (Oct 2009):

Benson, H. Y., Interior-point Methods for Mixed-integer Nonlinear and Cone Programming Problems, International Symposium on Mathematical Programming: Chicago, IL, (Aug 2009):

Benson, H. Y., Using interior-point methods within MINLP, IMA Hot Topics Workshop: Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Optimization: Algorithmic Advances and Applications: Minneapolis, MN, (Nov 2008):

Benson, H. Y., Mixed Integer Nonlinear Programming Using Interior-point Methods, INFORMS Annual Meeting: Washington, DC, (Oct 2008):

Benson, H. Y., Interior-Point Methods for Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Conic Programming, SIAM Conference on Optimization: Boston, MA, (May 2008):

Benson, H. Y., LOQO, an Interior-Point Code for Nonconvex Nonlinear Programming, INFORMS: Seattle, WA, (Nov 2007):

Benson, H. Y., and Shanno, D. F., Interior-Point Methods for Nonconvex Nonlinear Programming: Regularization and Warmstarts, , IMA Conference on Numerical Linear Algebra and Optimisation: Birmingham, UK, (Sep 2007):

Benson, H. Y., LOQO, an Interior-Point Code for Nonconvex Nonlinear Programming, International Conference on Continuous Optimization: Hamilton, Canada, (Aug 2007):

Benson, H. Y., State-of-the-Art in Large-Scale Nonlinear Optimization, School of Biomedical Engineering Seminar Series, Drexel University: Philadelphia, PA, (Apr 2007):

Benson, H. Y., and Shanno, D. F., Interior-Point Methods for Nonconvex Nonlinear Programming: Regularization and Warmstarts, (Jan 2007):

Proceedings

Abichandani, Pramod, Ford, Gabriel, Benson, H. Y., and Kam, Moshe, Mathematical Programming for Multi-Vehicle Motion Planning Problems, IEEE Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) Feb 2012.

Abichandani, Pramod, Benson, H. Y., and Kam, Moshe, Decentralized Multi-Vehicle Path Coordination in Support of Communication, International Conference on Robotics Systems (IROS) Jun 2011. (Sep 2011):

Abichandani, Pramod, Benson, H. Y., and Kam, Moshe, Multi-Vehicle Path Coordination in Support of Communication, IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation May 2009. (May 2009):

Abichandani, Pramod, Benson, H. Y., and Kam, Moshe, Multi-Vehicle Path Coordination under Communication Constraints, American Control Conference Mar 2008. (Mar 2008):

Hu, Wanting, Liu, Xiangrong, and Benson, H. Y., Nonlinear Programming for Supply Chain Management: A Survey and Extensions, Proceedings of the Northeast Decision Sciences Institute Apr 2006. (Apr 2006):

Benson, H. Y., Optimal Pricing and Procurement Strategies in a Supply Chain with Multiple Capacitated Suppliers, Proceedings of the Northeast Decision Sciences Institute, Philadelphia, USA 2005 Mar 2005. (Mar 2005):

Banerjee, A., and Benson, H. Y., Lot Sizing for Group Technology Cells: A Mixed Integer Nonlinear Model with Complementarity Constraints, Second AIMS International Conference on Management Dec 2004. (Dec 2004):

Benson, H. Y., and Ogden, J. M., Mathematical Programming Techniques for Designing Minimum Cost Pipeline Networks for CO2 Sequestration, Greenhouse Gas Technologies Conference Nov 00-1. (Sep 2002):

Education

PhD Operations Research and Financial Engineering-Princeton University USA 2001
MA Operations Research and Financial Engineering-Princeton University USA 1999
BS Mathematics and Computer Science-Georgetown University USA 1997

Grants

Multivehicle Path Coordination under Communication Constraints (Drexel University Interdisciplinary Research Grant) $15,000 Jul 2007.
Efficient Interior-Point Methods for Mixed-Integer Nonlinear and Conic Programming (National Science Foundation) $59,960 Sep 2007.

Professional Experience

Academic-Drexel University Associate Professor Sep 2009-Sep 2018
Academic-Drexel University Assistant Professor Philadelphia PA Sep 2003-Sep 2009
Academic-United States Naval Academy Assistant Professor Annapolis MD Aug 2002-Aug 2003
Academic-Princeton University Environmental Institute Postdoctoral Fellow Princeton NJ Sep 2001-Jun 2002
Academic-Princeton University - Operation Research and Financial Engineering Postdoctoral Fellow Princeton NJ Sep 2001-Jun 2002
Academic-Rutgers University Part-Time Lecturer New Brunswick NJ Aug 2001-May 2002

Awards

2017 2018 Outstanding STAR Mentor (Drexel University)
2009-2012 Distinguished Fellow, Center for Research Excellence (LeBow College of Business Center for Research Excellence)
2005 Excellence in Research Award (LeBow College of Business)

Service

Computational Optimization and Applications – Associate Editor (2021–Present)
Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications – Associate Editor (2020–Present)
Mathematical Programming Computation – Associate Editor (2017–Present)
Optimization and Engineering – Associate Editor (2017–Present)