Dr Ripon Kumar Chakrabortty

My Expertise

Artificial Intelligence in Decision-Making for Complex Systems (focus: Supply Chain and Project Scheduling)

Fields of Research (FoR)

Planning and decision making, Artificial intelligence, Operations research, Evolutionary computation, Optimisation, Transportation, logistics and supply chains, Project management

SEO tags

Management and Productivity

Construction Planning

Environmentally Sustainable Manufacturing

Carbon and Emissions Trading

Renewable Energy

Biography

Dr Ripon Kumar Chakrabortty is "A Decision Scientist who applies Artificial Intelligence and Optimisation Models in Decision-Making for Complex Systems (focus: Supply Chain and Project Management)”. His research interest covers a wide range of topics in decision analytics, applied artificial intelligence, evolutionary computation, operations research, and applied optimisation in the "Project Scheduling and Supply Chain Management" domains. As an industrial engineer with a strong focus on data-driven decision-making, machine learning, deep learning models, and optimization tools, his academic contributions profoundly impact the Australian economy and society. Through his research and expertise, he drives innovation and efficiency across various industries, optimizing manufacturing processes, supply chains, healthcare logistics, and service networks. By integrating advanced technologies, he enables Australian businesses to stay competitive, reduce costs, and improve productivity, ultimately contributing to the country's economic growth and sustainability. Moreover, his work in enhancing quality control and resource management positively impacts Australian society by ensuring the delivery of high-quality products and services to consumers while promoting a safer, more sustainable work environment for employees. As an industrial engineer, his academic pursuits are pivotal in shaping Australia's technologically advanced, resilient, and prosperous future.

He is the founder and leader of The "Decision Support and Analytics Research Group (DSARG)". He is also the 'Lead' of the 'Artificial Intelligence in Project Management' Community of Practice (CoP) of the Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM). More about him and his research engagement can be found on his research group page. He only accepts potential PhD students with good programming skills and a prior understanding of optimisation and algorithms. Students with exceptional academic scores (more than 80%), good publication records, and proficient programming skills are encouraged to contact him via r.chakrabortty@unsw.edu.au.

My Research Portfolio can be obtained by clicking here.

My Research Group can be obtained by clicking here.

PhD scholarships ($38,438 per year) are available for high-achieving students (with H1/High Distinction in UG and/or Masters by Research) in engineering, mathematics or relevant sciences under my supervision.

Future PhD & Master by Research Students

Students with good programming skills and prior knowledge of optimisation and algorithms are encouraged to apply. Students with excellent programming and communication skills will be highly appreciated. Several types of scholarships are available; however, admission and scholarship applications are highly competitive. A self-assessment tool is available to get a general feel for your competitiveness. You need to meet the English language requirements. If you are eligible and interested in working on the following (or closely related) topics or keywords, please send me your CV, academic transcripts, the result of the self-assessment, and a research proposal. Your research proposal should highlight the following:

Abstract
Introduction (highlighting Research Motivation, Research Trends, Challenges, and benefits)
Research problems,
Research Objectives and Questions
A Brief Review of the Most Relevant Literature,
Proposed Methodology
Expected Outcome
Significance of Expected Outcome
Proposed Timeline to accomplish research project.

For more information, please refer to the following links on how and when to apply for a research degree. NB: Please feel free to seek my advice/help while constructing your Research Proposal.

Research Interests

Artificial Intelligence and Explainable Artificial Intelligence in Decision-Making for Complex Supply Chain and Logistics Systems
Optimisation for Operations Management Problems (focus: Sustainable Smart Scheduling, Project Scheduling, Logistics & Supply Chain Management)

Education

PhD in Computer Science, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Canberra, Australia. The year 2017. Thesis: Managing Uncertainties and Disruptions in Resource-Constrained Project Scheduling.
M.Sc. in Industrial and Production Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Bangladesh. The year 2013. Thesis: A Decision Support System for Aggregate Production Planning.
B.Sc. in Industrial and Production Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Bangladesh. The year 2009. Thesis: Selection of Potential Suppliers Through Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) Techniques.
Diploma of Logistics from Monarch Institute, Melbourne, Australia. The year 2018. Nationally accredited by the Australian Government under the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA). Certified by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport Australia (CILTA).
Certificate in ERP (SAP Supply Chain Management), provided by the Sydney Institute of ERP (SiERP). The year 2018

Teaching

Decision Making in Analytics
System Engineering & Management (or, Managing the Development of Engineered Systems)
Evidence-Based Decision Making
Project Schedule & Budget Control
Decision Making Analytics
Capability Option Analysis
System Analysis & Modelling
Software Project Management
Engineering Management
Probability and Statistics
Operations Research
Production Management
Quality Control and Management
Facility Management and Material Handling
Project Management
Maintenance and Reliability Management
Supply Chain Management
Operations Research

Professional Education Short Courses

Project Management Analytics (Click here for Registration)
Supply Chain Analytics in the Industry 4.0 era (Click here for Registration)
Business Analysis and Valuation (Click here for Registration)
Capability Options Analysis

My detailed 'myEducation Portfolio' can be obtained by clicking here.

Professional Membership & Affiliations

Senior Member (IEEE)
Member, Australian Society for Operations Research (ASOR)
Member, Institute of Industrial & Systems Engineering (IISE)
Member, Association of Information Systems (AIS)
Member, Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM)
Member, IFCYBER
Member, UNSW AI Institute

Future PhD Projects:

https://www.unsw.adfa.edu.au/seit/our-projects/combining-optimization-and-multi-criteria-decision-analysis-multi-method-framework-application-asset-planning

https://www.unsw.adfa.edu.au/seit/our-projects/mitigating-uncertainties-dynamic-logistic-supply-chain-models-optimization-approach

https://www.unsw.adfa.edu.au/seit/our-projects/developing-user-friendly-interface-predict-project-success-and-control-budget-considering-real-life-risks

https://www.unsw.adfa.edu.au/seit/our-projects/solving-resource-portfolio-problem-mitigating-uncertainties-and-preparing-unexpected

https://www.unsw.adfa.edu.au/seit/our-projects/internet-things-iot-enabled-practical-multi-project-scheduling-problems

https://www.unsw.adfa.edu.au/seit/our-projects/big-data-and-cyber-physical-system-enabled-sustainable-project-scheduling-problems

https://www.unsw.adfa.edu.au/seit/our-projects/synchronization-production-scheduling-and-delivery-multi-factory-supply-chain

https://www.unsw.adfa.edu.au/seit/our-projects/machine-learning-technique-based-proactive-scheduling-and-real-time-reactive-scheduling-sudden-interruptions-managing-projects

My Grants

Co-CI, "An explainability oriented approach to manage dependent supply chain risks", ARC Linkage Project 2023-Round 1, 2024-2026, $500,000 (including industry partner's contribution).
Lead CI, "Enhancing Solar Panel Reliability: Data-Driven Maintenance, Smart Strategies, and User Acceptance", UNSW Global Research and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP), 2024, $20,000.
PI, "Blockchain-powered Sustainable Supply Chain", Sunway University Research Accelerator Grant Scheme, Malaysia, 2024-2025, RM 16,500.00
Co-CI, "Achieving Maritime Decarbonization through Systems Dynamics and Simulation Modelling", UNSW Global Research and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP), 2024, $20,000.
Co-CI, "Building Resilience to Power and Energy Systems Under Cyber-Related Disasters", Rapid Research Funding, SysCom, UNSW Canberra, 2023, $19,173.
Co-CI, RG204502, “Name: confidential”, Department of Defence / Commonwealth Government Contract, 2020-2021, $292,273.
Co-CI, RG203864, “Name: confidential”, Department of Defence / Commonwealth Government Contract, 2020, $300,000.
Co-CI, RG192081, “Name: confidential”, Department of Defence / Commonwealth Government Contract, 2019-2020, $541,425.
Co-CI, RG193169, “Name: confidential”, Department of Defence / Commonwealth Government Contract, 2019-2020, $245,125.
Co-CI, RG202374, “Name: confidential”, Department of Defence / Commonwealth Government Contract, 2020-2021, $330,600.
Co-CI, RG194087, “Name: confidential”, Department of Defence / Commonwealth Government Contract, 2019-2020, $453,750.
CO-CI, RG201160, “Asset Maintenance Modelling”, Department of Defence / Commonwealth Government Contract, 2020, $353,705.
Lead CI, “Pilot Optimisation models for security systems”, Capability Systems Centre, UNSW Canberra, 2019-2020, $37,000
Sole CI, Academic Start-up Funding, "Solving Resource Portfolio Problem: Mitigating Uncertainties and Preparing for the Unexpected", School of Engineering & Information Technology, UNSW Canberra, 2019-2020, $50,000.
Sole CI, 2022-23, Decision Support & Analytics Self Forming Research Group Bid, School of Engineering and IT, UNSW Canberra, $22,151

My Awards

As a first author, one of my journal papers was awarded a ‘highly cited paper’ (i.e., enough citations to place in the top 3% of the academic field and publication year).
Top downloaded/most read paper award for one of my publications within the window of 2018-19.
Best Paper Award, IEEE International Conference on Industrial Engineering & Engineering Management (IEEEM), 2018
Champion, Competition on solving real-world constrained optimisation problems in 2020 IEEE Congress on Evolutionary Computation (CEC), Glasgow, United Kingdom.
Gold Medal by Bangladesh University of Science and Technology (BUET), 2013 (For Highest CGPA in Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Session 2012-2013)
Awarded University Merit Scholarship in five semesters during undergraduate studies at BUET
Awarded Dean’s Scholarship for four years during undergraduate studies at BUET
Technical Award for engineering education in Bangladesh

My Research Activities

Please look at the "Decision Support & Analytics Research Group" webpage to find out more about my research activities, current projects and future projects for potential PhD students.

Link: https://www.unsw.edu.au/canberra/our-research/research-centres-institutes/dsar-group

My Research Supervision

Supervision keywords

artificial intelligence

decision analysis

supply chain management

project management and control

optimisation and design

evolutionary algorithms

machine learning

data uncertainty

Areas of supervision

Artificial Intelligence and Explainable Artificial Intelligence in Decision-Making

Operations Research

Supply Chain Management

Project Scheduling

Currently supervising

1. Mahdi Ansari (M.Res. in Civil Engineering) >> Integrated Solid Waste Management: Application of EAs (Completed & Awarded July 2022)

2. Dr Md Asadujjaman (PhD in Systems Engineering) >> Integrated Project Scheduling with Supply Chain Considerations (Completed & Awarded in March 2023)

3. Dr Shahed Mahmud (PhD in Systems Engineering) >> Sustainable Supply Chain and Production Planning (Completed & Awarded in March 2023)

4. Dr Tarun Kumar Biswas (PhD in Systems Engineering) >> Integrating Optimisation in Influence Maximisation tools (Completed & Awarded in August 2023. Got the Dean's Award for the outstanding thesis)

5. Dr Aaliya Sarfaraz (PhD in Computer Science) >> Deploying Blockchain Technology in the Sustainable Supply Chain (Completed & Awarded in May 2023)

6. Dr Supriyo Ahmed (PhD in Computer Science) >> Predicting Project Performance by Using Machine Learning Approaches (Completed & Awarded in October 2023)

7. Dr Md Sanowar Hossain (PhD in Systems Engineering) >> Production Planning under Dynamic Uncertainties (Completed & Awarded in October 2023)

8. Sonia Farhana Nimmy (PhD in Business) >> An Automated eXplainable Artificial Intelligence Framework for Operational Risk Management (AXAI-ORM) (Completed & Awarded in April 2024)

9. Dyuti Paul (M.Res. in Computer Science) >> Predicting Power Consumptions by Electric Vehicles: AI-focused (Completed & Awarded in May 2024)

10. Abu Hashan Md Mashud (PhD in Computer Science) >> Sustainable Supply Chain Design in Multi-echelon Framework (Expected completion: December 2024)

11. Farhad Habibi (PhD in Computer Science) >> AI and Optimisations in Managing Supply Chain Resiliency (Expected completion: February 2025).

12. Amir Hossein Ordibazar (PhD in Business) >> Proposing recommender systems and risk mitigation strategies for Supply Chain Management by using Counterfactual Explanation algorithms (Expected completion: February 2025)

13. Md Kamruzzaman (PhD in Business) >> Artificial Intelligence Assisted Recommeeder System for Credit Assessability (Expected Completion: July 2025)

14. Tanzila Azad Shashi (PhD in Computer Science) >> Artificial Intelligence-assisted decision-making in Production and Delivery Scheduling problem (Expected completion: July 2025)

15. Md Mahamudul Hasan (PhD in Computer Science) >> Intelligent, Secure and Scalable Digital Supply Chain Framework (Expected completion: July 2025)

16. Bodrunnessa Badhon (PhD in Computer Science) >> Explainable Artificial Intelligence in Project Risk Management (Expected completion: December 2025)

17. Mr Sayem Ahmed (PhD in Computer Science) >> Energy-aware Supply Chain Integrated Production Scheduling (Expected completion: December 2025)

18. Ms Yifan Xin (PhD in Computer Science) >> Carbon Gaming Policy for Optimised Global Supply Chain (Expected completion: February 2027)

19. Mrs Cholthicha Chaisuwan (Professional Doctorate in Project Management) >> Lesson Learned and Implication of Artificial Intelligence in Project Management Office (Expected Completion: December 2028)

20. Mr Sujan Miah (M.Res. in Business) >> Machine Learning Models for Supply Chain Prediction (Expected Completion: Term 1, 2028)

21. Mr Hasin Md Muhtasim Taqi (PhD in Computer Science) >> Machine Learning Models for Carbon Efficient Supply Chain Infrastructure (Expected Completion: Term 1, 2028)

22. Mrs Zahra Jiryaei Sharahi (PhD in Business) >> Explainable AI for Supply Chain Risk Management (Expected Completion: Term 1, 2028)

My Engagement

To understand more about Dr Chakrabortty's engagement, please look at the "Decision Support and Analytics Research Group" webpage.

Professional Services

Invited speaker, the International Conference on Automation, Control and Mechatronics for Industry 4.0 (ACMI 202), Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Rajshahi University of Engineering & Technology (RUET), 8-9^th July 2021.
Invited speaker at a Medical Intelligence Society’s virtual meeting (MIS Summit 2021). Medical Intelligence Society is a USA based company that offers a venue for clinicians interested in data science and artificial intelligence. The MIS summit supported my registration and attendance.
Invited keynote speaker, International Seminar on "Big Data Analytics for Industry 4.0: Applications & Challenges", Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management, India.
Chairing multiple technical sessions during the IEEE International Conference on Industrial Engineering & Engineering Management (IEEM) since 2018.
Program committee member for IEEE International Conference on Industrial Engineering & Engineering Management (IEEM) since 2018.
Guest Editor of a special issue in a first quartile journal (Electronics-MDPI)
I have been working as a reviewer for many well-reputed and prestigious journals related to my discipline.
Editorial Board Member (Computational and Applied Mathematics Section) in Mathematics (MDPI): An Open-access Journal
Editorial Board Member in Sustainability: An Open-access Journal (MDPI)
Chief Guest Editor for a Special Section in IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics (IF: 10.215, 2nd on Industrial Engineering as per the Web of Science).
Co-Editor for a Book on “Artificial Intelligence for Smart City Development: Management Systems & Technology Challenges”. This book will be published via the CRC Press (Taylor & Francis Group).
Associate Editor for the “IEEE Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics- 2021 version”, the flagship conference of the IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Society.
Hosted a seminar on “Merging Data Analytics and Decision Analytics towards Project Management Roadmap: Future Perspectives” in the Australian Society for Operations Research (ASOR) Seminar Series.
Associate Editor & Track Session Chair for the IEEE International Conference on Automation, Control and Mechatronics for Industry 4.0: 2021 Version.
Co-Organiser, special session on partitioning and clustering for evolutionary computation, IEEE World Congress on Computational Intelligence, Padua, Italy, 18-23 July 2022.
Editorial Board Member in the journal ‘Clean Technologies & Recycling’, AIMS Press.
Guest Editor, special issue on “Neuroevolution: Methods and Applications”, Journal of Computational Intelligence and Neuroscience, Hindawi.

Organisational Contribution

I have been the Program Coordinator of the Master of Decision Analytics (MDA) program at UNSW Canberra since February 2020. I have also been working as the Program Coordinator of the Master of Engineering Science (M.Eng.Sci.) at UNSW Canberra since June 2019.
Worked as a Program Coordinator for the Master of Project Management between Jan 2023 to Jan 2024.