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18th AIMMS-MOPTA Optimization Modeling Competition

  • 1.  18th AIMMS-MOPTA Optimization Modeling Competition

    Posted 8 hours ago
    The Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) at Lehigh University is thrilled to announce the opening of the 18th AIMMS-MOPTA Optimization Modeling Competition. The competition is a collaboration between AIMMS and the organizers of the MOPTA 2026 conference, which will take place in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, from August 18 - 19, 2026.

    The solution submission deadline has been extended to May 15, 2026, 23:59 Eastern Time. Information on registration, submission, eligibility, and competition format are posted on the competition website at https://coral.ise.lehigh.edu/mopta2026/competition/. Below, we provide an overview.

    This year's challenge: The goal of the competition this year is to analyze a dedicated truck routing problem from Interfor -- one of North America's leading forest products companies. The problem description is posted on the competition website.

    Registration: Teams must register for the competition as soon as they start working on the problem.

    Eligibility: Teams of at most three students can participate and should list a faculty advisor. The team leader must be a graduate student, though the other team members can be advanced undergraduate students. Each team member must be registered as a full-time student at a recognized educational institution during the Spring term of the 2025-2026 Academic Year. Teams from all over the world can participate, as long as at least one team member can come to the conference, should the team make it to the final round. The official language of the competition is English.

    Prizes: The top three teams will be invited to present (in person) to a panel of judges at the MOPTA 2026 conference, including representatives from both the conference organizing committee and AIMMS. Each finalist team will receive free conference registration for up to 2 team members. The prizes will be awarded as follows:

    Place                      Used AIMMS Software                             
    1st                                     $1200                                                                   
    2nd                                    $600                                                              
    3rd                                     $300                                                             

    For more details about the competition,  https://coral.ise.lehigh.edu/mopta2026/competition/

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    Akwum  Onwunta

    Lehigh University



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