Within the scope of a seminar organized by the Department of Industrial Engineering at Karadeniz Technical University, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gökhan Özçelik delivered a presentation entitled “Optimization in Disaster Management: The Art of Decision-Making under Uncertainty.”

 

The seminar focused on time-critical and operational decision problems encountered during the response and immediate post-disaster phases. Key topics included patient and casualty allocation, resource assignment, capacity constraints, demand uncertainty, and risk-sensitive decision-making, all discussed within the framework of optimization-based modeling approaches. Relevant methodologies from the literature—such as assignment models, priority-based flow structures, and risk-averse service level optimization—were also highlighted.

 

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Özçelik emphasized the role of industrial engineers in disaster management, underlining the importance of decision support systems, mathematical modeling, and optimization under uncertainty. The seminar further addressed current research trends, interdisciplinary perspectives, and potential future research directions in this rapidly evolving field.

 

The event provided valuable insights for students and academics, contributing to a broader understanding of both theoretical and applied research opportunities in disaster management.