Kai Pan is currently an Associate Professor in Operations Management at the Faculty of Business of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and the Director of the MSc Program in Operations Management (MScOM). He serves as a Secretary/Treasurer for the INFORMS Computing Society (ICS). He received his Ph.D. and M.S. degrees from the University of Florida, USA, and his Bachelor's degree from Zhejiang University, China. Previously he worked as a Research Scientist at Amazon (Seattle, Washington) on Supply Chain Optimization and as a Power System Engineer at GE Grid Solutions (Redmond, Washington) on Electricity Market Operations. His research interests include Stochastic and Discrete Optimization, Robust and Data-Driven Optimization, Dynamic Programming, and their applications in Energy Market, Smart City, Supply Chain, Shared Mobility, Marketing, and Transportation. His research on these topics has been published in Operations Research, Manufacturing and Service Operations Management, INFORMS Journal on Computing, Production and Operations Management, IISE Transactions, European Journal of Operational Research, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, Transportation Research Part B, etc. All these journals are top-tier journals in various fields. Dr. Pan was the first-place winner of the prestigious IISE Pritsker Doctoral Dissertation Award in 2017. His works have been supported by the Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

Education Background

• Ph.D., Industrial & Systems Engineering, The University of Florida, USA, 2012 - 2016
  • Dissertation Title: Deterministic and Stochastic Unit Commitment Problems: Convex Hulls, Strong Formulations, and Case Studies (The IISE Pritsker Doctoral Dissertation Award, the first place winner, 2017)
  • Advisor: Prof. Yongpei Guan
• M.S., Industrial & Systems Engineering, The University of Florida, USA, 2012 - 2014
• B.S., Industrial Engineering, Zhejiang University, China, 2006 - 2010

Research Interests

• Theories: Stochastic and Discrete Optimization, Robust and Data-Driven Optimization, Dynamic Programming, Game Theory
• Applications: Energy Market, Smart City, Supply Chain, Shared Mobility, Marketing, Transportation

Journal Publications

1. "Layout Optimization for a Large-Scale Grid-Connected Solar Power Plant," with Chong Wang, Qinghua Wu, and Zuo-Jun Max Shen. INFORMS Journal on Computing, forthcoming, 2024.
2. "Integrated Vehicle Allocation and Relocation for Shared Micromobility under Competition and Demand Uncertainty," with Ziliang Jin, Zuo-Jun Max Shen, and Wenxin Xu. IISE Transactions, forthcoming, 2024.
3. "State-of-the-Art Review of Smart Energy Management Systems for Supporting Zero-emission Electric Vehicles with X2V and V2X Interactions," with Yang Xu, Hongxing Yang, Sunliang Cao, etc. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, forthcoming, 2024. (IF=16.3)
4. "Convex Hull for Self-Scheduling Energy-Intensive Enterprises with Demand Response Regulations," with Yang Xiao, Tao Ding, Chenggang Mu, Biyuan Zhang, and Mohammad Shahidehpour. IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, forthcoming, 2024.
5. "Linearization Method for Large-scale Hydro-thermal Security-Constrained Unit Commitment," with Ming Qu, Tao Ding, Chenggang Mu, Xiaosheng Zhang, and Mohammad Shahidehpour. IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering, 21(2), 1754-1766, 2024. (IF: 5.6)
6. "Vehicle Rebalancing in A Shared Micromobility System with Rider Crowdsourcing," with Ziliang Jin, Yulan Wang, Yun Fong Lim, and Zuo-Jun Max Shen. Manufacturing and Service Operations Management, 25(4): 1394-1415, 2023. [Preprint, SSRN]
7. "Robust Sourcing under Multi-level Supply Risks: Analysis of Random Yield and Capacity," with Ming Zhao and Nickolas Freeman. INFORMS Journal on Computing, 35(1): 178-195, 2023. [Preprint]
8. "An Exact Algorithm for the Pickup and Delivery Problem with Crowdsourced Bids and Transshipment," with E Su, Jiliu Li, and Hu Qin. Transportation Research Part B, 177, 102831, 2023.
9. "Data-Driven Chance-Constrained Planning for Distributed Generation: A Partial Sampling Approach," with Shiyi Jiang, Jianqiang Cheng, Feng Qiu, and Boshi Yang. IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, 38(6): 5228-5244, 2023. (IF: 6.6)
10. "Convex Hull Model for a Single-Unit Commitment Problem with Pumped Hydro Storage Unit," with Ming Qu, Tao Ding, Chenggang Mu, Yuge Sun, and Mohammad Shahidehpour. IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, 38(5): 4867-4880, 2023.
11. "Identification of Key Components after Unintentional Failures for Cascading Failure Protection," with Xiang Li and Tianyi Pan. IEEE Transactions on Network Science and Engineering, 10(2): 1003-1014, 2023. (IF: 6.6)
12. "Asymptotically Tight Conic Approximations for Chance-Constrained AC Optimal Power Flow," with Abolhassan Mohammadi Fathabad, Jianqiang Cheng, and Boshi Yang. European Journal of Operational Research, 305(2): 738-753, 2023.
13. "A Polyhedral Study on Fuel-Constrained Unit Commitment," with Ming Zhao, Chung-Lun Li, and Feng Qiu. INFORMS Journal on Computing, 34(6):3309-3324, 2022.
14. "The Techno-economic Flexibility Investigation and Enhancement for the Hybrid Ocean-energy Supported Zero-energy Building and Seawater-transportation System," with Xinman Guo, Haojie Luo, Sunliang Cao, and Yixing Lisa Gao. Energy Reports, vol. 8: 13438-13462, 2022. (IF: 5.2)
15. "Integrated Stochastic Optimal Self-Scheduling for Two-Settlement Electricity Markets," with Yongpei Guan. INFORMS Journal on Computing, 34(3): 1819–1840, 2022.
16. "Computationally Efficient Approximations for Distributionally Robust Optimization under Moment and Wasserstein Ambiguity," with Meysam Cheramin, Jianqiang Cheng, and Ruiwei Jiang. INFORMS Journal on Computing, 34(3): 1768–1794, 2022.
17. "Managing Stochastic Bucket Brigades on Discrete Work Stations," with Peng Wang, Zhenzhen Yan, and Yun Fong Lim. Production and Operations Management, 31(1): 358-373, 2022.
18. "Integrated Ad Delivery Planning for Targeted Display Advertising," with Huaxiao Shen, Yanzhi Li, and Youhua (Frank) Chen. Operations Research, 69(5): 1349-1650, 2021.
19. "Multistage Stochastic Power Generation Scheduling Co-Optimizing Energy and Ancillary Services," with Jianqiu Huang and Yongpei Guan. INFORMS Journal on Computing, 33(1): 352-369, 2021.
20. "Cutting Planes for Security-Constrained Unit Commitment with Regulation Reserve," with Jianqiu Huang and Yongpei Guan. IISE Transactions, 53(4): 437-452, 2021.
21. "Data-driven Planning for Renewable Distributed Generation Integration," with Abolhassan Mohammadi Fathabad, Jianqiang Cheng, and Feng Qiu. IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, 35(6): 4357-4368, 2020.
22. "Single-path Service Network Design Problem with Resource Constraints,'' with Xiangyong Li, Yi Ding, Dapei Jiang, and Yash P. Aneja. Transportation Research Part E, 140: 101945, 2020. (IF: 10.6)
23. "Data-Driven Look-Ahead Unit Commitment Considering Forbidden Zones and Dynamic Ramping Rates," with Ziliang Jin, Lei Fan, and Tao Ding. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics, 15(6): 3267-3276, 2019. (IF: 12.3)
24. "A Strengthened Mixed-Integer Linear Programming Formulation for Combined-Cycle Units," with Lei Fan and Yongpei Guan. European Journal of Operational Research, 275(3): 865-881, 2019.
25. "Bulk Ship Scheduling in Industrial Shipping with Stochastic Backhaul Canvassing Demand," with Lingxiao Wu, Shuaian Wang, and Dong Yang. Transportation Research Part B, 117: 117-136, 2018.
26. "Polynomial Time Algorithms and Extended Formulations for Unit Commitment Problems," with Yongpei Guan and Kezhuo Zhou. IISE Transactions, 50(8): 735-751, 2018. (download) (ISE Magazine feature article)
27. "On Service Network Improvement for Shipping Lines under the One Belt One Road Initiative of China," with Dong Yang and Shuaian Wang. Transportation Research Part E, 117: 82-95, 2018.
28. "Capacity Investment in Supply Chain with Risk Averse Supplier under Risk Diversification Contract," with Juan He and Chao Ma. Transportation Research Part E, 106: 255-275, 2017.
29. "Data-­Driven Risk-Averse Stochastic Self-­Scheduling for the Combined-­Cycle Units," with Yongpei Guan. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics, 13(4): 3058-3069, 2017.
30. "Strong Formulations for Multistage Stochastic Self-Scheduling Unit Commitment," with Yongpei Guan. Operations Research, 64(6): 1482-1498, 2016.
31. "Strengthened MILP Formulation for Certain Gas Turbine Unit Commitment Problems," with Yongpei Guan, Jean-Paul Watson, and Jianhui Wang. IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, 31(2): 1440-1448, 2016.

(10 papers in the UTD top-24 business journals, 9 papers in the IEEE Transactions journals, 5 papers in the IISE Trans./EJOR, 5 papers in the Transportation Research journals, and 2 papers in other specialty journals.)

Conference Proceedings

1. "Adaptive Crawling with Cautious Users," with Xiang Li, Tianyi Pan, and Guangmo Tong. In 2019 IEEE International Conference on Distributed Computing Systems (ICDCS 2019) (Acceptance rate: 19.6%)
2. "Stochastic Optimization Formulations for Reliability Unit Commitment Runs," with Yang Lu, Yongpei Guan, and Jean-Paul Watson. In 2014 IEEE PES General Meeting Conference. (Acceptance rate: N.A.)

External Research Grants

1. Hong Kong RGC General Research Fund (GRF), Principle Investigator. Project title: Data-Driven Domain-Aware Planning for Hydrogen-Driven Grid and Mobility Integration. Project period: 2025 - 2027.
2. Hong Kong RGC General Research Fund (GRF), Principle Investigator. Project title: Data-Driven Risk-Averse Operations for Autonomous Electrified Mobility Systems. Project period: 2024 - 2026.
3. Hong Kong RGC General Research Fund (GRF), Principle Investigator. Project title: Data-Driven Resilience Design for Integrated Grid and Mobility Systems. Project period: 2022 - 2024.
4. Hong Kong RGC General Research Fund (GRF), Principle Investigator. Project title: Data-Driven Planning for Smart Vehicle-Grid Integration Systems. Project period: 2021 - 2023.
5. National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), Principle Investigator. Project title: Optimizing Electrical Power System Operations Considering Limited Supply and Uncertain Net Demand. Project period: 2021 - 2023.
6. Hong Kong RGC General Research Fund (GRF), Principle Investigator. Project title: Capacity Design for Electrified Shared-Mobility Systems. Project period: 2020 - 2022.
7. Hong Kong RGC General Research Fund (GRF), Principle Investigator. Project title: Strategic Operations Management in Bicycle-sharing Industry. Project period: 2019 - 2021.
8. Hong Kong RGC Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme (HKPFS), Chief Supervisor, 2020 - 2023. (PhD student: Ziliang Jin)
9. Smart Traffic Fund of Hong Kong Transport Department, Co-Investigator. Project title: The smart charging development of zero-emission autonomous electric vehicles by the X2V and V2X technologies with respect to the dynamic traffic, grid and energy. Grant No.: PSRI/22/2111/PR. Funding Amount: HKD 2,205,792. PI: Sunliang Cao.

Teaching Experience

• LGT4017: Information Systems for Logistics Management, 2017 Spring, 2018 Spring, 2019 Spring, 2020 Spring, 2021 Spring, 2022 Spring
• LGT5113: Enterprise Resource Planning, 2018 Spring, 2019 Spring, 2020 Spring, 2022 Spring, 2023 Spring, 2024 Spring
• LGT4115: E-commerce and Logistics, 2019 Spring, 2020 Spring, 2021 Spring
• LGT5152: Information Systems for Supply Chain Management, 2021 Spring

Honors and Awards

• PBS (PolyU Business School) Fellow Award, 2021 and 2023
• Faculty Prize in Research and Scholarly Activities, 2022 and 2023
• Faculty Prize in Knowledge Transfer, 2023
• The IISE Pritsker Doctoral Dissertation Award, the first place winner, 2017
• Hearn Graduate Research Award, University of Florida, 2016
• Linda Parker Hudson Summer Fellowship, University of Florida, 2015
• Outstanding Graduate with Honor, Zhejiang University, 2010

Ph.D. Student Supervision

• Dongyan Zhang, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 2024 - Present (chief supervisor)
• Fangzhe Wang, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 2023 - Present (chief supervisor)
• Yilu Long, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 2023 - Present (chief supervisor; PolyU Presidential PhD Fellowship Scheme awardee)
• Fengjie Liang, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 2022 - Present (chief supervisor)
• Shiyi Jiang, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 2021 - Present (chief supervisor)
• Bin Tian, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 2021 - Present (chief supervisor)
• Ziliang Jin, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 2020 - 2024 (chief supervisor; Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme awardee). First Position: Tenure-Track Associate Professor in the School of Economics and Management at Southeast University, Nanjing, China.
• Ding Zou, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 2017 - 2022 (co-supervisor; jointly supervised with Yulan Wang and Xiaomeng Guo). First Position: Algorithm Engineer in Alibaba's Ant Group, Hangzhou, China.
• Abolhassan Mohammadi Fathabad, The University of Arizona, 2017 - 2022 (co-supervisor; jointly supervised with Jianqiang Cheng). First Position: Lecturer/Postdoc Fellow in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

Research Personnel

• Chong Wang, Research Assistant, 2022 - Present
• Canqi Yao, Postdoctoral Fellow, 2024 - Present

Academic Experience

• Associate Professor, Faculty of Business, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 2022 - Present
• Assistant Professor, Faculty of Business, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 2016 - 2022
• Research Assistant, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University, 2010 - 2012

Professional Experience

• Amazon Corporate LLC, Seattle, Washington, USA; Research Scientist, 2015 Summer
• GE Grid Solutions (formerly ALSTOM Grid), Redmond, Washington, USA; Research Scientist, 2014 Summer

Recruitment

• I am always looking for Ph.D. students who are interested in doing research on decision-making under uncertainty with potential applications in smart city operations, energy market, supply chain management, and transportation. Prospective students with solid backgrounds are welcome to email me with your CV. Research Assistant / Research Associate / Postdoctoral Fellow applications are also welcome.

Updated by Kai Pan (潘凯) in Nov 2024.