Ewch i’r prif gynnwys
Owen Jones

Yr Athro Owen Jones

Cadeirydd mewn Ymchwil Gweithredol

Yr Ysgol Mathemateg

Email
JonesO18@caerdydd.ac.uk
Telephone
+44 29225 10253
Campuses
Abacws, Ystafell 3.56, Ffordd Senghennydd, Cathays, Caerdydd, CF24 4AG
Users
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Trosolwyg

Research Group

Operational Research

Research Interests:

Operational research (OR) is a way of using analytical methods to help make better decisions. I am committed to developing the role of OR in the Environment, Energy & Sustainability. For example:

  • How to balance economic, environmental and social objectives
  • Quantifying the impacts of climate change
  • Managing renewable energy
  • Management of renewable and non-renewable resources
  • Sustainable water usage
  • Enabling sustainable cities and sustainable development
  • Reducing carbon emissions
  • Recycling, remanufacturing and waste management
  • Disaster management

Operational research draws on a wide range of mathematical modelling and optimisation techniques. My background is mostly in stochastic modelling and simulation, and I am particularly interested in likelihood free methods for fitting complex stochastic models to data.

Cyhoeddiad

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

Articles

Book sections

  • Jones, O., Robinson, A., Shield, M. and Sibley, J. 2017. The allocation of inspection resources. In: Robinson, A. P. et al. eds. Invasive Species: Risk Assessment and Management. UK: Cambridge University Press, pp. 1-16.

Books

Conferences

Ymchwil

I am an applied mathematician with a background in data analytics, optimisation and simulation. Many of my projects involve assembling data from divers sources, using it to build simulation models, then using those models to inform management decisions. Previous collaborators include the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (planning for the Post Entry Quarantine facility, a national infrastructure project); the Australian Office of Transport Security (improving security procedures in Australian airports); Rate Valuation Services (a financial services company);  McLaran International (the racing team); Merlin Power Systems (a feasibility study for an emergency response scheme for power generators in the UK); and National Air Traffic Systems (responsible for air traffic control in the UK).

My work makes use of a wide range of computational, analytical and mathematical techniques. I have taught graduate courses in machine learning and data mining, and I am the principal author of a best-selling text book on programming and simulation using the language R. Much of my current research concerns complex spatio-temporal environmental data, in particular problems of water runoff in catchment areas.

Addysgu

Current and Past Research Students

Nanda Aryal PhD: Spatio-Temporal Rainfall Models.

Sashireka Appalasamy PhD: Parametric and nonparametric regression for optimal power flow models in volatile scenarios: precision, robustness and reliability.

Felicia Eng PhD 2016: Game-Theoretic Approaches to Natural Disaster Evacuation Modelling.

Adam Kowalewski PhD 2016: Volatility Homogenisation and Machine Learning for Time Series Forecasting.

Craig Mason MPhil 2016: Improved modelling of post fire hydro-geomorphic risks.

Geoffrey Decrouez PhD 2009: Generation of multifractal signals with underlying branching structure.

Wahib Arroum PhD 2008: Time-Changed Self-Similar processes: An Application To High Frequency Financial Data

Textbook

Owen Jones, Robert Maillardet, and Andrew Robinson.Introduction to Scientific Programming and Simulation Using R, Second Edition. The R Series, Chapman & Hall/CRC. 2014.

From the preface: “This book has two principal aims: to teach scientific programming and to introduce stochastic modelling. Stochastic modelling in particular, and mathematical modelling in general, are intimately linked to scientific programming because the numerical techniques of scientific programming enable the practical application of mathematical models to real-world problems. In the context of stochastic modelling, simulation is the numerical technique that enables us to analyse otherwise intractable models.

“Simulation is also the best way we know of developing statistical intuition.”

Bywgraffiad

Grants and consulting

2016
Australian Research Council Linkage Grant: Mitigating extreme water supply contamination in bushfire burned catchments
2015
Australian Federal Office of Transport Security: Report on Utility of Explosive Trace Detection Deployment Arrangements
2013
Australian Federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry: Risk Analysis for the new Post-Entry Quarantine Facility
2012
Rate Valuation Services: Multivariate Approaches to Breach Detection
2011
Bushfire Collaborative Research Centre Grant: Quantifying water quality risks following wildfire
2009
Norman Waterhouse Lawyers: Advice on a question of changing market share
2008
French-Australian Science and Technology Program International Science Linkage: Objective Risk Evaluation and Decision Making for Large Systems
2006
Melbourne University Grant: Brownian motion with a multifractal time-change
Australian Research Council Discovery Grant: Multifractal models in finance via the crossing tree
2005
Virgin Blue: Comments on Audit Sampling Dictionary
2004
Nuffield Foundation Grant: Modelling self-similar telecommunications data
2003
Merlin Power Systems: Modelling delivery of emergency generators
2002
McLaren International: Optimal settings for a race car
UK EPSRC Grant: Self-similar processes with embedded branching process
1999
UK National Air Traffic Systems: Analysis of Real-time Simulation Trials