Elsa Marília Silva

Elsa Silva is a researcher at INESC TEC's Industrial Engineering and Management Center and an invited Assistant Professor at the University of Minho's Production and Systems Department.

She has a PhD in Industrial and Systems Engineering since 2012 from the University of Minho. Her main research interests include the ability to solve hard and large-scale combinatorial optimization problems that arise in various fields, such as cutting and packing problems and retail operations, using hybrid linear and meta-heuristic programming approaches.

Elsa Silva's main research contributions have been in cutting and packing (C&P) problems. Pioneering algorithms have been developed combining mathematical models, decomposition methods and heuristics to solve practical applications that so far have not been studied realistically. This was an important contribution to the advancement of C&P knowledge.

The practical applications addressed were Shelf Space Allocation problem, Strip Packing Problem in textile industry, Container Loading Problem with stability, weight limit, load balance and multi-drop constraints. Another important contribution in C&P area was the problem generator for every type of 2D and 3D rectangular C&P problems.

Domains

Industrial Engineering and Management

Projects

AdaptPack

Project datasheet

Desenvolvimento de sistemas robóticos de paletização adaptativos e modulares de elevada flexibilidade

DeltaC&P

Project datasheet

Uncertainty in cutting and packing problems: robust planning and optimized replanning in manufacturing and transportation

View all projects

Publications

Pallets delivery: Two matheuristics for combined loading and routing

Silva, E;Ramos, AG;Moura, A;

2024

EXPERT SYSTEMS WITH APPLICATIONS

Heuristics for Two-Dimensional Bin-Packing Problems

Chan, TK;Alvelos, F;Silva, E;de Carvalho, JMV;

2011

The Industrial Electronics Handbook - Five Volume Set

HEURISTICS WITH STOCHASTIC NEIGHBORHOOD STRUCTURES FOR TWO-DIMENSIONAL BIN PACKING AND CUTTING STOCK PROBLEMS

Chan, TM;Alvelos, F;Silva, E;Valerio De Carvalho, JMV;

2011

ASIA-PACIFIC JOURNAL OF OPERATIONAL RESEARCH

Sequence based heuristics for two-dimensional bin packing problems

Alvelos, F;Chan, TM;Vilaca, P;Gomes, T;Silva, E;Valerio de Carvalho, JMV;

2009

ENGINEERING OPTIMIZATION

View all publications

Supervised theses

Electrical Robotic Arm Tool for Forestry Applications

Ana Isabel Teixeira Ferreira

M - 2024

UP-FEUP

Centres

Industrial Engineering and Management

The Centre for Industrial Engineering and Management (CEGI) is internationally recognised in the fields of decision science, optimisation, operations management and service engineering. The mission is to support organisations and communities in decision-making by harnessing the power of data to develop robust and sustainable solutions to complex problems. Research at CEGI focuses on real-world challenges like transport planning, supply chain management, healthcare service networks, industrial operations optimisation, disaster response and recovery, and the impact assessment of public policies. By resorting to Artificial Intelligence, data science and mathematical modelling, CEGI aims to understand system behaviours, improve process efficiency, increase organisational resilience, and anticipate the effects of decisions in uncertain contexts. CEGI operates across critical sectors including mobility, healthcare, retail, industry, energy, and services, focusing on digital transition and sustainability. We collaborate with academia, companies, municipal authorities, hospitals, and regulators, transforming scientific knowledge into applied solutions. We believe that evidence-based management is key to tackling the challenges of a constantly changing world.