Kevin Ross Research

My students, collaborators and I study the management and engineering of service networks. Service networks occur in widely different fields, linked by structural similarities, where performance depends upon the dynamic allocation of resources over complex networks of interdependent processes in a changing environment. These describe computer processing systems (where machines, disks and switches are allocated to various tasks), flexible manufacturing facilities (production lines and people) and service enterprise networks (large numbers of people with various skills).

This research includes an understanding of both deterministic and stochastic networking, scheduling and optimization. We are particularly interested in

Managing, Planning and Controlling Service Resources
Call center routing, pricing and design
Human resource planning, scheduling and optimization
Quality of service support (minimizing customer delays) through dynamic scheduling algorithms
Buffer management and optimal control of complex queuing structures
The integration of learning and pricing into queueing network control
Scheduling algorithms for high-speed switching and routing
Server farm management, network operations management, grid computing and autonomic computing networks
Queueing theory and stochastic scheduling
Adaptive, distributed control algorithms in communications, supply chains and technology
Control Theory and Applications

This work requires a new, integrated approach to queueing, online scheduling, stochastic processes, and learning. We have seen significant breakthroughs at the intersections of these fields, including understanding the throughput and performance characteristics of the appropriate system models, load balancing and service-optimizing policies including scalable, distributed control methods. For example, an important issue for service networks is the development of appropriate pricing and contract structures. Since jobs tend to require multiple resources at different stages, the value of cross-trained resources (such as people with multiple skills, machines that can complete multiple tasks, etc.) needs to be understood, and these types of questions are addressed in this research.

As for the official stuff, I am an Assistant Professor in Technology and Information Management at the University of California, Santa Cruz. I joined the team in July 2004 and am especially focussed on research to impact the Silicon Valley. I am part of the Silicon Valley Center located at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. My background includes a Ph.D. in Management Science and Engineering at Stanford University. There I worked with Professor Nicholas Bambos as part of the Networking Research Laboratory. Prior to that I earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand.

I'd like to thank the following important sources of generous support

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