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8 - Graph Theory, Combinatorial Optimization, and Supply Chains

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 October 2025

Soroush Saghafian
Affiliation:
Harvard University, Massachusetts
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Summary

This chapter is devoted to understanding how the main ideas in graph theory and combinatorics optimization can assist insight-driven problem solving, and thereby, create public impact. The reader sees how such ideas have laid the foundation for apps such as Google Maps and how they are being used to improve our understanding of social networks, design transportation networks, create efficiency schedules for sports events, enhance cryptosystems, and improve the efficiency of supply chains. The reader also learns how analytics scientists have been able to learn from the amazing ability of nature in problem solving (swarm intelligence) and use this to develop effective insight-driven problem solving approaches that can yield powerful insights in addressing complex societal problems.

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