Handbook of Military and Defense Operations Research Call for Chapter Proposals

  • Proposal Submission Deadline: March 15, 2018
  • Editors:
    • Natalie M. Scala
    • James P. Howard, II

Introduction

Operations research (OR) is a core discipline in military and defense management. Coming to the forefront initially during World War II, OR provided critical contributions to managing supply chains and strategic simulation, as well as enabled superior management for Allied forces. Since these early days, OR has grown to include analytics and many applications, including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and big data, and is the cornerstone of management science in manufacturing, advertising, telecommunications, and many other fields. In Handbook of Military and Defense Operations Research (MDOR), we will present the voices leading OR and analytics to new heights in security through research, practical applications, and lessons learned in the field.

No longer constrained to printed tables and traditional optimization problems, OR and analytics support a dynamic problem space that has applications to national security, policing, cyberspace, foreign policy, terrorism, and homeland security. Because of this, there is a critical need for students, practitioners, military, and security analysts to understand the problem space, best practices, and lessons learned from actual problems. Contextual milieu is key to supporting cutting edge analysis that transforms national security and supports both traditional and emerging military operations research and analytics applications.

Instructors will benefit from this text through examples and case studies that can be utilized directly in an OR classroom. Students will benefit from access to hands on and practical experience from writers in the field. Regardless of background, readers of MDOR will find solutions for problems facing the security and defense space every day.

Objectives of the Book

The objective of this book is to provide a set of case studies, essays, and positional papers to illustrate application of operations research and analytics techniques within the military, national defense, and homeland security sectors. The content can then be used by educators to facilitate and enhance classroom discussion as well as by practitioners for guidance on best practices.

In the public and military sectors, many traditional business analyses can no longer be directly applied. For instance, supply chains are at substantial risk, reputation risk is a larger concern, and military personnel have a different relationship with the organization. This book aims to bridge this gap, demonstrating context for security and defense applications, and matching existing theoretical frameworks with this application area.

We welcome chapters that focus on applications of empirical research and theoretical frameworks, or generalized case studies illustrating model development, best practices, lessons learned, and obstacles achieved within the unique military and defense environment. We also welcome submissions that apply existing research to these sectors.

Target Audience

The target audience for MDOR is undergraduate students and early career practitioners in operations research and analytics, to facilitate understanding of the use of operations research and analytics in defense and security practice. Students at military service academies may especially benefit from a collection of cases and best practices. Furthermore, practitioners in government and military roles, both civilians and contractors, as well as military service members assigned to operations research and systems analysis (ORSA) roles will benefit from the book’s contextual examples and collection of best practices.

Suggested Topics

Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Security of supply chains
  • Big data analytics
  • Forecasting and predictive analysis
  • Conflict modeling
  • Planning and scheduling decisions
  • Process optimization
  • Workforce planning
  • Operational readiness
  • Utility and value based decisions
  • Systems analysis, design, and testing
  • Cyber defense
  • Cost-benefit analyses
  • Risk assessment and mitigation
  • Social network applications
  • Attacker-defender games
  • Acquisition/procurement risk
  • Financial management via OR
  • Maintenance and reliability
  • Soft skills and contract management

Other topic areas related to applications of operations research and analytics within the military and national security areas will be welcomed.

Submission Procedure

Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit their chapter proposals. All submitted chapters will be reviewed on a double-blind review basis. Contributors may also be requested to serve as reviewers for this project. This publication is anticipated to be released in early 2020.

Chapter proposals should be submitted through this webform:

The form requests contact information, a list of authors, and a 600-800 word extended abstract of the proposed chapter. Accepted chapters should be 10,000 words or fewer. Author guidelines and a chapter template will be available to accepted authors.

Note: There are no submission or acceptance fees for manuscripts submitted to this book publication. All manuscripts are accepted based on a double-blind peer-review editorial process.

Publisher

CRC Press, Florida, USA, is a premier global publisher of science, technology, and medical resources. CRC Press is a member of Taylor & Francis Group. For additional information regarding the publisher, please visit their website at <https://www.crcpress.com>.

Important Dates

  • March 15, 2018: Chapter proposals due
  • June 1, 2018: Contributors will be notified and selected authors invited to participate
  • September 30, 2018: First submission of chapters
  • December 31, 2018: Initial chapter review and authors asked to revise if appropriate
  • March 15, 2019: Final chapter submission
  • Early 2020: Publication

For More Information

Inquiries may be forwarded electronically to:

Updates and further information will be available at <https://www.DefenseOR.com>.