Dick Barr, Ph.D

Associate Professor of Operations Research & Engineering Management

Department

OREM

Email

barr@smu.edu

Office Location

323 Caruth Hall

Website

Dr. Barr’s research interests include large-scale network and integer optimization, computational data analytics, quantum computing methods, parallel algorithms for high-performance computers, and the empirical analysis of algorithms. He is the author of over 45 research articles, which have appeared in Operations Research, Mathematical Programming, Parallel Computing, and the ORSA Journal on Computing. Past and current editorial work includes INFORMS Journal on Computing, Interfaces, Journal of Heuristics, and Interactive Transactions on OR/MS. He has graduated 24 doctoral students and his publications have received over 4,400 citations.

He is past chair of the INFORMS Computing Society and received its Greenberg Award for Service. His research has received over $1 million in funding from the National Science Foundation, DARPA, the State of Texas, the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR), and Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control.

Dr. Barr’s business background includes the establishment of several start-up businesses, one of which received venture funding from StarTech EV, Austin Ventures, Centerpoint Ventures, and SSM Partners. His consulting practice’s client list includes CONRAIL, Coopers & Lybrand, Cray Research, E-Systems, General Motors, Heritage Foundation, IBM, Peat Marwick Main & Co., Raytheon, Texas Instruments, and the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Health and Human Services, Interior, and Treasury.

Education

Ph.D. in Operations Research, University of Texas at Austin

Research

  • Large-scale Network and Integer Programming Optimization
  • Computational Data Analytics and Data Envelopment Analysis
  • Optimization for Quantum and High-Performance Computers
  • Empirical Analysis of Algorithms

Publications

  • Barr, R. and T. McLoud, , Networks 77, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1002/net.22026.
  • Barr, R., F. Glover, T. Huskinson, and G. Kochenberger, , Networks 77:2 322–340, 2021. (Special Issue Article) https://doi.org/10.1002/net.22020

Honors and Awards

  • Harvey J. Greenberg Award for Service, from the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences’ Computing Society, 2015
Dr.Barr