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From the President of EURO
On behalf of the European Association of Operational Research Societies, it is a great pleasure to me to welcome
you to EURO 2000. The year 2000 is not only a commemorable date for Christianity but also for the Hungarian
state and for EURO. Hungary is celebrating its 1000th anniversary of statehood and EURO can look back upon its
short but successful history of a quarter of a century.
Considering the envisaged extension of the European Union, our Hungarian friends have chosen 'OR for a United
Europe' as the theme of the conference. In fact, we are on the threshold of an era which is driven by a tremendous
extension of our communication abilities and at the same time by an intensified worldwide competition. Europe can
only master these challenges and contribute to a beneficial global development if it activates the whole of its rich
intellectual and cultural fundus.
As a science that enables the incorporation of intelligent procedures into transactional communication processes,
OR, whether it pleases or not, came into the focus of this exciting development. The European-wide urgent need
for scientifically educated people being able to develop intelligent systems and the flood of new software companies
developing optimisation software gives ample evidence.
The EURO Conference 2000 is meant to work as an important impulse to the development of Operational Research
in this part of the world. It is therefore a pleasure to me to warmly express my sincere thanks to the Hungarian
organisers of this Conference, particularly to the chair of the Organising Committee, Prof. Dr. András Prékopa and his
team, as well as to the Programme Committee with Prof. Dr. Jakob Krarup as its chairman, for their joint efforts to
make this event a success.
Entering the gateway to the third millennium, I wish you not only an inspiring and constructive conference for your own
personal advancement but, moreover, for the prospering of our field as a whole.
SCHNEEWEISS Christoph
From the President of the Hungarian OR-Society
On behalf of the Hungarian Operational Research Society, I feel extremely honoured to welcome and host all
the Participants of EURO 2000 - which is the XVII-th conference of the 25-year old EURO - in Budapest,
the capital of Hungary celebrating the 1000-year old statehood in 2000.
A short survey on the results is highly convincing that the advances in operational research will be made use of
in most aspects of life, and we all want to add a smaller or bigger portion to the development of the information
society with environment of good quality. A principal aim of this event is to make a step towards United Europe.
EURO, during its 25 years, made outstanding efforts in this respect, and we intend to take share for some further
25 years in the unbroken endeavour of the OR community in serving science and the welfare of mankind.
We do hope to provide you with a creative, stimulating ambience for attaining promoting results. We cherish trust
that the beauty of our country, the atmosphere and surroundings will evoke evergreen memories of this land.
RAPCSAK Tamas
Thanks to
- the willingness of leading scholars in the field to offer plenary and semi-plenary addresses,
A second plenary session is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. The first part chaired by Professor Andres Weintraub,
President of IFORS, will be the IFORS Distinguished Lecture, "Large-Scale Discret Optimization in Airline Scheduling",
delivered by Professor George L. Nemhauser. Afterwards follows the "EURO 25th Anniversary Session" chaired by
Professor C. Schneeweiss, President of EURO. Amongst others, the award will here be presented to the winner of the
"Best Applied Paper" competition.
With emphasis on state-of-the-art reviews and with particular attention given also to new topics in OR, about 22
prominent semi-plenary speakers will address the Conference in the first time slot (09.00-10.30) on Tuesday and
Wednesday. Their papers (extended abstracts or full text) will be made available to all participants in a booklet handed
out on location. The remaining eight time slots will be devoted to the invited and contributed sessions with up to 25 in
parallel and comprising about 550 papers in total.
Breaks should not be wasted in queuing up for this and that. Coffee/tea/soft drinks will thus be available daily (09.00-17.30)
at the Conference site. Likewise, for those who prefer a light meal around lunch time, sandwiches/snacks and a selection
of beverages will be offered from 11.00 to 15.00.
Disregarding the scientific message to be conveyed and the opportunity for informal being together, EURO XVII is also a
birthday party. Next to the plenary session on Tuesday, EURO's 25th anniversary will be properly celebrated at the
Banquet on Tuesday evening preceded by a boat cruise along the Danube River taking all participants and accompanying
persons to the Margaret Island, the venue of the Banquet.
The year 2000 should not be neglected either as an important landmark in human history. In addition, Hungary will commemorate
its millennium, the 1000th anniversary of the Hungarian statehood. The whole country and especially Budapest will offer colourful
cultural programmes adding to the attractiveness of the city which is known as one of the finest European metropolises.
"OR for a United Europe": let us unite!
KRARUP Jakob, Programme Committee Chair
PREKOPA Andras, Organising Committee Chair
- the efforts made by the organisers of the invited sessions, the authors of invited and contributed papers, and
- the members of the two committees we are chairing,
- the foundation of EURO in 1975,
- the support offered by EURO and IFORS,
- the excellent conference facilities available at Budapest University of Economic Sciences and State Administration,
- the splendour of Budapest in general,