Paolo Toth (born 29 December 1941 in Zara, Italy) is an Italian scientist and engineer, and an Emeritus Professor of

Operations Research Operations research ( en-GB, operational research) (U.S. Air Force Specialty Code: Operations Analysis), often shortened to the initialism OR, is a discipline that deals with the development and application of analytical methods to improve decis ...

at the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continu ...

. He is known for his research in

operations research Operations research ( en-GB, operational research) (U.S. Air Force Specialty Code: Operations Analysis), often shortened to the initialism OR, is a discipline that deals with the development and application of analytical methods to improve decis ...

and

mathematical programming Mathematical optimization (alternatively spelled ''optimisation'') or mathematical programming is the selection of a best element, with regard to some criterion, from some set of available alternatives. It is generally divided into two subfi ...

. He made significant contributions in the areas of

vehicle routing The vehicle routing problem (VRP) is a combinatorial optimization and integer programming problem which asks "What is the optimal set of routes for a fleet of vehicles to traverse in order to deliver to a given set of customers?" It generalises t ...

knapsack A backpack—also called knapsack, schoolbag, rucksack, rucksac, pack, sackpack, booksack, bookbag or backsack—is, in its simplest frameless form, a fabric sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders ...

and other

cutting Cutting is the separation or opening of a physical object, into two or more portions, through the application of an acutely directed force. Implements commonly used for wikt:cut, cutting are the knife and saw, or in medicine and science the scal ...

and packing problems, train scheduling, set covering,

vertex coloring In graph theory, graph coloring is a special case of graph labeling; it is an assignment of labels traditionally called "colors" to elements of a graph subject to certain constraints. In its simplest form, it is a way of coloring the vertices ...

and, in general,

combinatorial optimization Combinatorial optimization is a subfield of mathematical optimization that consists of finding an optimal object from a finite set of objects, where the set of feasible solutions is discrete or can be reduced to a discrete set. Typical combi ...

. As of 2023, he published over 170 peer-reviewed articles and was cited more than 10,000 times. He was President of the

Italian Operations Research Society The Associazione Italiana di Ricerca Operativa (AIRO) – Optimization and Decision Sciences – is the professional non-profit society for the scientific field of Operations Research in Italy. The society is recognized by the International Federa ...

(AIRO) from 1988 to 1995, of the

Association of European Operational Research Societies The Association of European Operational Research Societies (EURO) is a regional grouping within the International Federation of Operational Research Societies (IFORS) whose aim is to promote Operational Research throughout Europe. It was establishe ...

(EURO) from 1995 to 1996, and of the

International Federation of Operational Research Societies The International Federation of Operational Research Societies (IFORS) is an umbrella organization for national operations research societies of over 45 countries from four geographical regions: Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, and South Americ ...

(IFORS) from 2001 to 2003. Among his PhD students are Andrew H. and Ann R. Tisch Professor Andrea Lodi (

Cornell Tech Cornell Tech is a technology, business, law, and design campus of Cornell University located on Roosevelt Island in Manhattan, New York City. It includes the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute, a joint academic venture between Cornell and the Tec ...

), and Professor Daniele Vigo (

Education and early career

Toth graduated from the University of Bologna with a degree in

Electronic Engineering Electronics engineering is a sub-discipline of electrical engineering which emerged in the early 20th century and is distinguished by the additional use of active components such as semiconductor devices to amplify and control electric current ...

in 1965. He was an assistant and associate professor of computer science at the University of Bologna from 1968 to 1980. From 1980 to 1983 he was a full professor of Automatic Control at the

University of Florence The University of Florence (Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Firenze'', UniFI) is an Italian public research university located in Florence, Italy. It comprises 12 schools and has around 50,000 students enrolled. History The first universi ...

, before returning to the University of Bologna as a full professor of combinatorial optimization.

Awards

*1998 -

EURO Gold Medal The EURO Gold medal of the Association of European Operational Research Societies (EURO) is the highest distinction within Operations Research (OR) in Europe. The prize was first awarded to Hans-Jürgen Zimmermann in 1985. The medal is awarded ...

from the

. *2003 - Honorary Doctorate in Operational Research from the

University of Montreal A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

. *2005 -

Robert Herman Robert Herman (August 29, 1914 – February 13, 1997) was an American scientist, best known for his work with Ralph Alpher in 1948–50, on estimating the temperature of cosmic microwave background radiation from the Big Bang explosion. Biograp ...

Lifetime Achievement Award from

Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) is an international society for practitioners in the fields of operations research (O.R.), management science, and analytics. It was established in 1995 with the merger o ...

. *2012 -

IFORS The International Federation of Operational Research Societies (IFORS) is an umbrella organization for national operations research societies of over 45 countries from four geographical regions: Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, and South Americ ...

Distinguished Lectures from

. *2016 -

INFORMS The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) is an international society for practitioners in the fields of operations research (O.R.), management science, and analytics. It was established in 1995 with the merger o ...

Elected Fellows from

. *2019 - EURO Distinguished Service Award from

Books

He is the co-author, with

Silvano Martello Silvano Martello (born in Bologna, Italy) is an Italian scientist and engineer, and an Emeritus Professor of Operations Research at the University of Bologna. He is known for his research in Operations Research and Mathematical Programming. In p ...

, of the book ''Knapsack problems: Algorithms and Computer implementations'' (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1990) and is also the co-author, with Daniele Vigo, of the book ''Vehicle Routing: Problems, Methods, and Applications'' (Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, 2014)

References

External links

Home page
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Toth, Paolo University of Bologna alumni Academic staff of the University of Bologna 1941 births Living people