Rosie Kim, a PhD student at Georgia Tech, presents her research on strategic locomotive assignment in this video spotlight. Kim works with the NSF AI Institute for Advances in Optimization (AI4OPT) under the guidance of Professor Pascal Van Hentenryck, in collaboration with Amira Hijazi.

Her work focuses on developing optimization models that improve how locomotives are allocated across Union Pacific Railroad’s network. The research accounts for long-term planning, cost-efficiency, and operational constraints to support better decision-making in rail logistics.

By addressing large-scale transportation challenges with advanced optimization techniques, Kim’s research highlights the transformative potential of AI and operations research in critical infrastructure—advancing AI4OPT’s mission to tackle real-world problems through cutting-edge AI and optimization.