Biography

Dr. Yanchao Liu is an Associate Professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Wayne State University. Dr. Liu received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, M.S. from the University of Arkansas, and B.S. from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, all in Industrial Engineering. Prior to joining Wayne State University in 2017, he was a Data Scientist and Manager of Advanced Analytics at Sears Holdings Corporation and Director of Brand Marketing Analytics at Catalina Marketing Corporation. Dr. Liu’s research focuses on developing mathematical models and computing algorithms to empower the next-generation air and ground transportation systems, data analytics platforms and industrial artificial intelligence (AI) applications. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation and the State of Michigan. He is a recipient of the NSF Career Award.

Recruiting

I am looking for a new PhD student with strong interest in operations research, algorithms development and drones. The desired starting semester is Winter, Jan 2022 but it can be flexible. Interested applicants please email me along with your resume, transcripts, and writing or code samples. Chinese-speaking students can find my recruiting post on 1point3acres.

Courses

DSA 6000: Data Science and Analytics (Alumni)

DSA 7500: Data Science Practium (Alumni)

IE 6210: Applied Engineering Statistics

IE 7710: Introduction to Stochastic Processes

IE 6010: IoT and Edge AI Programming

Invention

U.S. Patent Pending: A Smart Landing Platform with Data-driven Analytic Procedures for Unmanned Multicopter Aircraft Pre-flight Diagnosis, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 63/249,752. Co-inventor: Zhenyu Zhou. YouTube

Software

brif: Random forests for classification and regression. CRAN, PyPI

bsnsing: Decision trees with optimal splits. CRAN

gepR: Gene Expression Programming (GEP) tool for data mining.

Journal Publication

1. S. Kazemdehbashi and Y. Liu (2024). An algorithm with exact bounds for coverage path planning in UAV-based search and rescue under windy conditions, Computers and Operations Research, Volume 173. PDF Link Code
2. Y. Liu, Z. Zhou, W. Naqvi and J. Chen (2023). Strategic Deconfliction of Unmanned Aircraft Based on Hexagonal Tessellation and Integer Programming, Journal of Guidance,Control and Dynamics, Volume 64, Number 12, 2023. Link PDF
3. J. Xiang, J. Chen and Y. Liu (2023). Hybrid multi-scale search for dynamic planning of multi-agent drone traffic, Journal of Guidance,Control and Dynamics, Volume 46, Issue 10, 2023. Link PDF
4. Z. Zhou, Y. Liu, T. Hu and C. Wang (2023). Two unsupervised learning algorithms for detecting abnormal inactivity within a household based on smart meter data, Expert Systems with Applications, Volume 230, November 2023, 120565. Link PDF
5. Y. Liu (2023). Routing battery-constrained delivery drones in a depot network: a business model and its optimization-simulation assessment, Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, Volume 152, July 2023, 104147. Link PDF Code
6. Y. Liu (2022). bsnsing: A decision tree induction method based on recursive optimal boolean rule composition, INFORMS Journal on Computing. Link, arXiv, CRAN, GitHub, Video, Slides
7. Pengcheng Wu, Junfei Xie, Yanchao Liu, Jun Chen (2022). Risk-bounded and Fairness-aware Path Planning for Urban Air Mobility Operations under Uncertainty, Aerospace Science and Technology. Link PDF
8. Xin Geng, Shuwei Li, Jaeyoung Heo, Yi Peng, Wenhui Hu, Yanchao Liu, Jier Huang, Yang Ren, Dongsheng Li, Liang Zhang and Long Luo (2022). Grain-Boundary-Rich Noble Metal Nanoparticle Assemblies: Synthesis, Characterization, and Reactivity, Advanced Functional Materials. Link Video
9. Y. Liu (2022). An elliptical cover problem in drone delivery network design and its solution algorithms, European Journal of Operational Research, accepted. PDF Link Code
10. Y. Liu (2022). Two lower-bounding algorithms for the p-center problem in an area, Computational Urban Science, 2 (5), 2022. Link PDF
11. Z. Zhou and Y. Liu (2021). A smart landing platform with data-driven analytic procedures for UAV preflight safety diagnosis, IEEE Access. Link PDF.
12. Y. Liu (2021). A Multi-agent Semi-cooperative Unmanned Air Traffic Management Model with Separation Assurance, EURO Journal on Transportation and Logistics, Volume 10, 2021, 100058. Link PDF Video
13. Y. Liu (2021). A faster algorithm for the constrained minimum covering circle problem to expedite solving p-center problems in an irregularly shaped area with holes, Naval Research Logistics, 69(3), pages 431-441, 2022. Link PDF Video Code
14. Z. Zhou, J. Chen, Y. Liu (2021). Optimized landing of drones in the context of congested air traffic and limited vertiports, IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, vol 22, issue 9, pages 6007 - 6017, 2021. Link PDF Video
15. Y. Liu (2019). A Progressive Motion Planning Algorithm and Traffic Flow Analysis for High-Density 2D Traffic, Transportation Science, vol 53, no 6, 2019. Link PDF
16. Y. Liu (2019). An Optimization-driven Dynamic Vehicle Routing Algorithm for On-demand Meal Delivery Using Drones, Computers and Operations Research, vol 111, pages 1 - 20, 2019. Link PDF
17. Y. Liu (2021). A note on solving DiDi's driver-order matching problem, Optimization Letters, 15, pages 109-125, 2021. Link PDF
18. M. C. Ferris and Y. Liu (2016). Modelling Demand Response in Organized Wholesale Energy Markets, Optimization Methods & Software, 31:5, 2016. Link PDF
19. Y. Liu, J.T. Holzer and M.C. Ferris (2015). Extending the bidding format to promote demand response, Energy Policy, 86, pages 82-92, 2015. Link
20. Y. Liu, M.C. Ferris, F. Zhao (2014). Computational Study of Security Constrained Economic Dispatch With Multi-Stage Rescheduling, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, 30(2), pages 920-929, 2014. Link
21. Y. Liu and M.C. Ferris (2013). Payment Rules for Unit Commitment Dispatch, The Electricity Journal, 26(4), pp 34 - 44, 2013. PDF

Conference Proceedings

1. Y. Liu (2023). brif: A novel and efficient implementation of random forests based on bit packing and parallel computing, Proceedings of the IISE Annual Conference & Expo 2023, May 20-23, 2023, New Orleans, LA. PDF Code
2. Z. Zhou and Y. Liu (2022). A scalable cloud-based UAV fleet management system, accepted for publication in Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering (LNME), Proceedings of FAIM 2022, June 19-23, 2022, Detroit, USA. PDF
3. Y. Liu and M. C. Ferris (2015). Security-constrained Economic Dispatch using Semidefinite Programming, 2015 IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting, Denver, CO, 2015. PDF
4. Y. Liu, M. C. Ferris, F. Zhao, T. Zheng and E. Litvinov (2015). A Stochastic Unit Commitment with Derand Technique for ISO's Reserve Adequacy Assessment, 2015 IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting, Denver, CO, 2015. (Best conference paper) PDF
5. M. D. Rossetti and Y. Liu (2009). Simulating SKU Proliferation in a Health Care Supply Chain, Proceedings of the 2009 Winter Simulation Conference (WSC), 2365-2374, 2009.
6. Y. Liu, J. English and E. Pohl (2007). Application of Gene Expression Programming in the Reliability of Consecutive-k-out-of-n: F Systems with Identical Component Reliabilities, Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Intelligent Computing, pp. 217 - 224, 2007.
7. Y. Liu, L. Gao, Y. Dong, B. Pan (2006). A New Method for Finding Constant Terms in the Context of Gene Expression Programming, Proceedings of the International Conference Bio-Inspired Computing - Theory and Applications, pp. 195 - 200, 2006.

YouTube Videos

AUVSI Xponential 2020, "Optimized Air Traffic Management", YouTube

NSF I-Corps Team 1808 Prompt Air Delivery Lessons Learned, YouTube

Prompt Air Fleet Routing, YouTube

Prompt Delivery by Drone, YouTube