Research
My current research focus is on the integration of systems modelling, discrete optimization, and data analytics for solving decision-making problems in service systems, where most of my applications are in the domains of logistics and transportation services and healthcare service delivery. I am interested in modelling problems, devising solution procedures, and using these tools to improve operations, help system design, and derive managerial insights. My solution methodologies and their applications have been published in top journals in various fields, including industrial engineering, operations management, transportation, and healthcare informatics.
My research has been supported by Research Grants Council of Hong Kong, Health and Medical Research Fund (Health Bureau, the Hong Kong SAR Government), Smart Traffic Fund, Innovation and Technology Fund, MTR Research Funding, Microsoft Research Asia, and Macao Science and Technology Development Fund, with a total amount of funding over HKD 20 million.
Selected External Competitive Research Grants
In the capacity of PI:
Embracing Mobility, Technology, and Resilience (MTR) after the Pandemic: Data-Informed Design, Planning, and Operations Management of Tomorrow’s Railway Systems, MTR Research Funding (MRF) Scheme, HKU-23002, 2024 - 2027.
General Research Fund (GRF), Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong, 17204823. 2024 - 2026.
Smart Traffic Fund (STF) PSRI/42/2206/PR. 2023 - 2025.
Trial: Virtual Reality Content Creator Platform: Career and Life Planning and Comfort Care Service for the Individuals with Special Needs in the Society, Public Sector Trial Scheme (PSTS), Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF), ITT/019/22LP. 2023 - 2024.
Emergency Department Medical Workforce Planning under Rare Crises through Chance-Constrained Programming, PROCORE - France/Hong Kong Joint Research Scheme, Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong and Consulate General of France (CGF) in Hong Kong, F-HKU704/22. 2023 - 2025.
General Research Fund (GRF), Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong 17200820. 2021 - 2024.
Towards more sustainable urban mobility: smart bike sharing systems through data-driven optimization, funded by Germany/Hong Kong Joint Research Scheme, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong G-HKU703/19. 2020- 2021.
Early Career Scheme (ECS), Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong 27200419. 2020 - 2023 .
Striking a Balance between Cost, Effectiveness, and Efficiency of Emergency Departments in Hong Kong: an Integrated Approach of Data Analytics, Simulation, and System Optimization, funded by Health and Medical Research Fund (HMRF), Food and Health Bureau 14151771. 2017 - 2019.
Integrating Simulation with Variable Neighborhood Search for Estimating Latent Variables, funded by General Research Fund (GRF), Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong 14202115. 2016 - 2018.
Stochastic Optimization for Energy Planning, funded by PROCORE - France/Hong Kong Joint Research Scheme, Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong and Consulate General of France (CGF) in Hong Kong, F-CUHK405-/15. 2016 - 2017.
Real-Time Re-Optimization for Public Transportation Disruptions Management Using Urban Data, funded by Microsoft Research Asia Collaborative Research Fund. 2015 - 2017.
Sustainable Public Transit – On-demand Transit Systems with Electric Vehicles, funded by General Research Fund (GRF), Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong 414313. 2014 - 2017.
Simulation Optimization for Health-care Management: a Polyhedral Investigation, funded by Macao Science and Technology Development Fund 088/2013/A3 2014 - 2017.
Total amount: ~ HKD 20,000,000 (~ USD 2,500,000 )
Selected Journal Publications
(* indicates the corresponding author)
Wang, J., Ma, L., Xue, W.*, and Kuo, Y. H. “Impact of self‐service technology in designing a service delivery system.” Production and Operations Management. Forthcoming.
Ma, J., Jiang, Y., Kuo, Y.H., Huang, G.* “RubikCell: Towards Robotic Cellular Warehousing Systems for E-commerce Logistics.” IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Forthcoming.
Yan, Y., Deng, Y., Cui S., Kuo, Y.H.*, Chow, A., Ying, C. “A Policy Gradient Approach to Solving Dynamic Assignment Problem for On-site Service Delivery.” Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review. 178, 103260, 2023.
Wu, Q., Chan, S. C. L., Lee, T. T. L., So, K. W. L., Tsui, O. W. K., Kuo, Y. H., Rainer, T.H., & Wai, A. K.C.∗ “Evaluating the Patient Boarding during Omicron Surge in Hong Kong: Time Series Analysis." Journal of Medical Systems, 47(1), 1–10, 2023
Kuo Y.H.*, Leung J.M.Y., Meng H., So A.M.C., Tsoi K.K.F. and Graham C.A., “Integrated approach of data analytics, simulation, and system optimisation to evaluate emergency department performance in Hong Kong: abridged secondary publication." Hong Kong Medical Journal, 29(1:2): 18–21, 2023.
de Queiroz, T.A., Iori, M., Kramer, A.* & Kuo, Y.H. “Dynamic Scheduling of Patients in Emergency Departments.” European Journal of Operational Research, 310(1): 100 – 116, 2023
Lin, J., Choi, T. M.*, and Kuo, Y. H. "Will Providing Return-Freight-Insurances Do More Good than Harm to Dual-Channel E-Commerce Retailers?" European Journal of Operational Research, 307(3), 1225–1239, 2023.
Kuo, Y.H., Leung, J.M.Y.*, and Yan, Y. “Public Transport for Smart Cities: Recent Innovations and Future Challenges.” European Journal of Operational Research. 306(3): 1001–1026, 2023.
Nasir, J. A., Kuo, Y. H.*, and Cheng, R. “Clustering-based iterative heuristic framework for a non-emergency patients transportation problem.” Journal of Transport & Health, 26, 101411. 2022.
Masmoudi, M. A., Mancini, S., Baldacci, R., and Kuo, Y. H.* “Vehicle routing problems with drones equipped with multi-package payload compartments.” Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 164, 102757. 2022.
Yan, Y., Chow, A.H., Ho, C.P., Kuo, Y.H.*, Wu, Q., Ying, C. “Reinforcement Learning for Logistics and Supply Chain Management: Methodologies, State of the Art, and Future Opportunities.” Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 162: 102712, 2022.
He, S.Y.*, Kuo, Y.H., Sun, K.K. “The Spatial Planning of Public Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure in a High-density City using a Contextualised Location-allocation Model.” Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 160: 21–44, 2022.
Wang, Y., Kuo, Y.H.*, Huang, G.Q., Gu, W., Hu, Y. “Dynamic Demand-driven Bike Station Clustering.” Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Reviews, 160: 102656, 2022.
Wang X., Kuo Y.H., Shen H., and Zhang L.* “Target-oriented robust location–transportation problem with service-level measure." Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, 153: 1–20, 2021.
Nasir J.A. and Kuo Y.H.* “A Decision Support Framework for Home Health Care Transportation with Simultaneous Multi-Vehicle Routing and Staff Scheduling Synchronization." Decision Support Systems, 138: 113361, 2020.
Kuo Y.H.*, Chan N.B., Leung J.M.Y., Meng H., So A.M.C., Tsoi K.K.F. and Graham C.A., "An Integrated Approach of Machine Learning and Systems Thinking for Waiting Time Prediction in an Emergency Department." International Journal of Medical Informatics, 139: 104143, 2020.
Kuo Y. H., Balasubramanian H. and Chen Y.*, “Medical Appointment Overbooking and Optimal Scheduling: Tradeoffs between Schedule Efficiency and Accessibility to Service." Flexible Services and Manufacturing Journal, 32(1): 72-101, 2020.
Kuo Y.H. and Kusiak A.*, “From Data to Big Data in Production Research: The Past and Future Trends.", International Journal of Production Research, 57(15-16): 4828–4853, 2019. (Top cited paper published in 2019; Selected Surveys on Cutting-edge Problems in Production Research)
Ho S.C., Szeto W.Y.*, Kuo Y.H., Leung J.M.Y., Petering M. and Tou T.W.H., “A Survey of Dial-a-ride Problems: Literature Review and Recent Developments." Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, 111: 395–421, 2018. (Most cited paper published since 2018)
Cheng C.H. and Kuo Y.H.*, “A Dissimilarities Balance Model for a Multi-skilled Multi-location Food Safety Inspector Scheduling Problem." IIE Transactions, 48(3): 235–251, 2016. (Computational instances)
Kuo Y.H.* and Leung J.M.Y., “On the Mixed Set Covering, Packing and Partitioning Polytope." Discrete Optimization, 22(A): 162–182, 2016.
Kuo Y.H.*, Rado O., Lupia B., Leung J.M.Y. and Graham C.A, “Improving the Efficiency of a Hospital Emergency Department: A Simulation Study with Indirectly Imputed Service-time Distributions." Flexible Services and Manufacturing Journal, 28(1): 120–147, 2016.
He S.Y.*, Kuo Y.H. and Wu D., “Incorporating Institutional and Spatial Factors in the Selection of the Optimal Locations of Public Electric Vehicle Charging Facilities: A Case Study of Beijing, China." Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, 67: 131–148, 2016.
Kuo Y.H., Leung J.M.Y.* and Yano C.A., “Scheduling of Multi-Skilled Staff Across Multiple Locations." Production and Operations Management, 23(4): 626–644, 2014.
For a more comprehensive list of publications, please visit here.
Samples of Research on Healthcare Service Delivery
Below is a poster presented in the Faculty of Engineering. If you are new to and interested in operations research for healthcare service delivery, you may click on the following poster for a look at some samples of research topics in this area.
