Rate My Professor R.J. Boucherie

Prof. dr. R.J. Boucherie (Richard) is Full Professor of Stochastic Operations Research and Head of the Stochastic Operations Research group in the Department of Mathematics of Operations Research within the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Twente. He holds an M.Sc. in Mathematics and an M.Sc. in Physics from Leiden University (1988), a postgraduate degree in Mathematics from Leiden University (1988), and a Ph.D. in Econometrics from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (1992), with a thesis titled 'Product-form in queueing networks'. His career includes post-doctoral positions at INRIA Sophia-Antipolis (1992-1993 and 1994) and CWI Amsterdam (1993-1994), researcher and senior researcher roles at the University of Amsterdam (1994-2000), associate professor there (2000-2003), full professor at the University of Twente (2003-2006), and his current professorship since 2006. Additionally, he has served as Chair of Stochastic Processes in Telecommunications and Logistics since 2008. Boucherie is co-founder and co-chair of the Center for Healthcare Operations Improvement and Research (CHOIR) at the University of Twente and co-founder of the spin-off company Rhythm B.V. for logistical improvements in healthcare.

Boucherie's research specializes in probability theory, queueing theory, Markov decision theory, stochastic operations research, and performance analysis, with applications in healthcare logistics, telecommunications including ad-hoc, sensor, and wireless networks, as well as traffic, transport, and manufacturing systems. He has co-authored influential books such as 'Queueing Networks: A Fundamental Approach' (Springer, 2011) and 'Markov Decision Processes in Practice' (Springer, 2017). Key publications include 'Taxonomic classification of planning decisions in health care: a structured review of the state of the art in OR/MS' (Health Systems, 2012, cited 628 times), 'Managing the overflow of intensive care patients' (European Journal of Operational Research, 2008, cited 211 times), and 'Running times on railway sections with heterogeneous train traffic' (Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, 2001, cited 188 times). His contributions have earned awards including the Operations Research Society’s Practice Prize (2012), Excellence in Advanced Planning Award from ORTEC (2012), Best Paper Award at ASMTA (2008), and Best Paper Award at PNPM (1993). Boucherie's work has significantly impacted stochastic modeling and optimization in operations research applications.