Handbook of Operations Research for Homeland Security

This new Handbook addresses the state of the art in the application of operations research models to problems in preventing terrorist attacks, planning and preparing for emergencies, and responding to and recovering from disasters. The purpose of the book is to enlighten policy makers and decision makers about the power of operations research to help organizations plan for and respond to terrorist attacks, natural disasters, and public health emergencies, while at the same time providing researchers with one single source of up-to-date research and applications.

The Handbook consists of nine separate chapters:

• Using Operations Research Methods for Homeland Security Problems
• Operations Research and Homeland Security: Overview and Case Study of Pandemic Influenza
• Deployed Security Games for Patrol Planning
• Interdiction Models and Applications
• Time Discrepant Shipments in Manifest Data
• Achieving Realistic Levels of Defensive Hedging
• Mitigating the Risk of an Anthrax Attack with Medical Countermeasures
• Service Networks for Public Health Preparedness and Large-scale Disaster Relief Efforts
• Disaster Response Planning in the Private Sector

• Counterterrorism
• Decision Science
• Emergency Preparedness
• Homeland Security
• Operations Research
• Public Health
• Threat Analysis

From the book reviews:

“It is certainly a good read for practitioners and operations research (OR) professionals who are interested in the operational aspects of HLS. … this book is a nice collection of articles on response strategies to malevolent and natural threats to public security and well-being. … I commend the editor for collecting the articles and producing this book.” (Moshe Kress, Interfaces , Vol. 44 (3), May-June, 2014)

• , Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, USA

  Jeffrey W. Herrmann

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