The Computational Optimization Methods (COMET) Lab is a research group led by Dr. Changhyun Kwon in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at KAIST.

The COMET Lab is seeking new students to join the group; see here for details.

Current Members

Current members of the COMET Lab.

Changhyun Kwon

Changhyun Kwon is leading the COMET Lab. His research interests include computational methods for solving operational problems arising in urban logistics, mobility, and services. He received his PhD and MS in Industrial Engineering from Penn State, and BS in Mechanical Engineering from KAIST.





Merve Doganbas

Merve Doganbas is a Ph.D. candidate in the ISysE Department at KAIST. She received her MS in ISysE from KAIST and her BS in Industrial Engineering from Bilkent University in Turkey. She is interested in combinatorial optimization, reinforcement learning, and deep learning. She is co-advised by Prof. Hayong Shin.




Hyeonah Kim

Hyeonah Kim is a Ph.D. candidate in the ISysE Department at KAIST. She received her MS in Industrial Engineering from Seoul National Univ. and her BS in Industrial Engineering from Hanyang Univ. She is interested in combinatorial optimization with deep learning. She is co-advised by Dr. Jinkyoo Park.




Yoonju Sim

Yoonju Sim is a master’s student in the ISysE Department at KAIST. She received a BS degree in Industrial Engineering from Korea University. Her current research interests include optimization, machine learning, and reinforcement learning.





Doyoung Lee

Doyoung Lee is a master’s student in the ISysE Department at KAIST. He received a BS degree in Industrial Engineering from KyungHee University. His current research interests include the optimization of transportation networks utilizing exact and robust & heuristic methods, as well as reinforcement learning techniques.




Junpyo Lee

Junpyo Lee is a master’s student in the ISysE Department at KAIST. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering at Hanyang University in 2023. His current research interests include optimization and risk management of transportation networks.





Abhay Sobhanan

Abhay Sobhanan is a PhD student at the IMSE Department, USF. He received his BS-MS dual degree in Mathematics from National Institute of Technology Agartala, India in 2019. His current research interests include optimization of transportation networks using exact and heuristic methods.





Sasan Mahmoudi

Sasan Mahmoudi is a doctoral student in the IMSE Department at USF. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Sharif University of Technology, Iran in 2011 and a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from the same institution in 2014. His current research interests include the optimization of transportation networks utilizing exact and heuristic methods, as well as Machine Learning (ML) techniques such as Reinforcement Learning.





Past Members

University of South Florida

  • Xufei Liu, Ph.D. 2022, Computational Methods for Solving the Combinatorial Optimization Problems in Transportation
  • Aigerim Bogyrbayeva, Ph.D., 2021, Optimization and Machine Learning Methods for Solving Combinatorial Problems in Urban Transportation (web)
  • Zulqarnain Haider, Ph.D., 2020, Using Optimization Methods for Solving Problems in Sustainable Urban Mobility and Conservation Planning (web) (co-advisor Dr. Hadi Charkhgard)
  • Mahdi Takalloo, Ph.D., 2020, Game Theory Approaches for Transportation Problems
  • Kevin Melendez, Ph.D., 2020, On the Convergence of Transportation and Power Systems in Smart and Connected Communities (co-advisor Dr. Tapas Das)
  • Liu Su, Ph.D., 2019, Routing and Designing Networks for Two Transportation Problems
  • Aritra Pal, Ph.D., 2017, Improving Service Level of Free-Floating Bike Sharing Systems

University at Buffalo

  • Anpeng Zhang, Ph.D., 2018, Understanding and Modeling New Transportation Markets with Emerging Vehicle Technologies (co-advisor Dr. Jee Eun Kang)
  • Nan Ding, Ph.D., 2017, Enabling Urban Parcel Pick-up and Delivery using All-Electric Trucks (co-advisor Dr. Rajan Batta)
  • Longsheng Sun, Ph.D., 2016, Designing Regulation Policies for Hazardous Materials Transportation (web) (co-advisor Dr. Mark Karwan)
  • Masoumeh Taslimi, Ph.D., 2015, On the Analysis of Two Problems related to Risk Management in Urban Transportation Networks (co-advisor Dr. Rajan Batta)
  • Tolou Esfandeh, Ph.D., 2015, Regulating Hazardous Materials Transportation by Dual-Toll Pricing and Time-Dependent Network Design Policies (co-advisor Dr. Rajan Batta)
  • Iakovos Toumazis, Ph.D., 2015, Dynamic Chemotherapy Scheduling for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patients: Assessments and Improvements (web)
  • Md. Tanveer Ahmed, Ph.D., 2013, Revenue Management for Online Advertisement Services
  • Paul Berglund, Ph.D., 2012 Three Problems in Discrete Network Facility Location
  • Yingying Kang, Ph.D., 2011, Value-at-Risk Models for Hazardous Materials Transportation (co-advisor Dr. Rajan Batta)
  • Ali Sattarzadeh, M.S., 2015, Hazmat Network Design Considering Risk and Cost Equity
  • Zulqarnain Haider, M.S., 2014, Inventory Rebalancing through Pricing in Public Bike Sharing Systems
  • Chelsea Greene, M.S., 2013, OR/MS Approaches to Problems involving Hazardous Materials Risk and Impacts from a Natural Disaster (co-advisor Dr. Rajan Batta)
  • Anand Srinivasan, M.S., 2010, Operations of Online Advertising Services and Publisher’s Options
  • Amod Anand Agashe, M.S., 2010, Stochastic Revenue Optimization in Online Advertising
  • Varun Narayana Kutty, M.S., 2010, Accept-Reject Decision in Online Advertising using Geometric Brownian Motion