Optimization Modeling with Spreadsheets, Second Edition

Reflects the latest applied research and features state-of-the-art software for building and solving spreadsheet optimization models

Thoroughly updated to reflect the latest topical and technical advances in the field, Optimization Modeling with Spreadsheets, Second Edition continues to focus on solving real-world optimization problems through the creation of mathematical models and the use of spreadsheets to represent and analyze those models. Developed and extensively classroom-tested by the author, the book features a systematic approach that equips readers with the skills to apply optimization tools effectively without the need to rely on specialized algorithms.

This new edition uses the powerful software package Risk Solver Platform (RSP) for optimization, including its Evolutionary Solver, which employs many recently developed ideas for heuristic programming. The author provides expanded coverage of integer programming and discusses linear and nonlinear programming using a systematic approach that emphasizes the use of spreadsheet-based optimization tools. The Second Edition also features:

• Classifications for the various problem types, providing the reader with a broad framework for building and recognizing optimization models
• Network models that allow for a more general form of mass balance
• A systematic introduction to Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)
• The identification of qualitative patterns in order to meaningfully interpret linear programming solutions
• An introduction to stochastic programming and the use of RSP to solve problems of this type

Additional examples, exercises, and cases have been included throughout, allowing readers to test their comprehension of the material. In addition, a related website features Microsoft Office? Excel files to accompany the figures and data sets in the book.

With its accessible and comprehensive presentation, Optimization Modeling with Spreadsheets, Second Edition is an excellent book for courses on deterministic models, optimization, and spreadsheet modeling at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. The book can also serve as a reference for researchers, practitioners, and consultants working in business, engineering, operations research, and management science.

About the Author

Kenneth R. Baker, PhD, is Nathaniel Leverone Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business and Adjunct Professor of Engineering at Dartmouth College. A Fellow of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), Dr. Baker has published extensively in his area of research interest, which include mathematical modeling, spreadsheet engineering, and scheduling. He is coauthor of Principles of Sequencing and Scheduling and Management Science: The Art of Modeling with Spreadsheets, Third Edition, both published by Wiley.