XVII Summer School "Francesco Turco" - 2012

Robert W. Grubbström has been Professor of Production Economics at Linköping Institute of Technology, Sweden, since 1972, and is now Emeritus Professor. He is Licentiate of Technology and Doctor of Economics, and has received honorary doctoral degrees from Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland, Corvinus University, Budapest, Hungary, and Leopold-Franzens-Universität, Innsbruck, Austria. He has Master’s degrees from the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, and the Stockholm School of Economics. He is currently President of the Senate and Dean of the Faculty, Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies, Šempeter pri Gorici, Slovenia.

Among the recognitions awarded him are Knight (First Class) of the Order of the White Rose of Finland, Commander of the Order of the Lion of Finland, Award of Recognition for Outstanding Contributions to the Development of the Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, (where he also is Honorary Visiting Professor) and Honorary Corporal, Kungl. Svea Trängregemente, Sweden. He is Honorary Research Fellow, Lancaster University, Special Professor, University of Nottingham Business School, United Kingdom, and Honorary President of the Economic Club of Linköping.

He is Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Production Economics (Elsevier) and is author/coauthor/editor of some 15 books and has written about 300 articles and working papers, including publications in the International Journal of Production Economics, Management Science, The Mathematical Scientist, International Journal of Production Research, Journal of Cybernetics, European Journal of Operational Research, Managerial and Decision Economics, Kybernetes, Omega, Economic Systems Research, Applied Energy and Annual Reviews in Control.

His current educational interests include modern information technology applied to interactive educational processes, such as designing the International Logistics Management Game (ILMG), used by several European universities and for vocational training. His scientific interests are focused on the development of a general theory for multi-level, multi-stage production-inventory systems applying Laplace transforms and input-output analysis (MRP Theory), and on the integration of economics and thermodynamics.

Latest articles and presentations (sample)

• “An Attempt to Introduce Dynamics Into Generalised Exergy Considerations”, Applied Energy, Vol. 84(7 - 8), 2007, 701 - 718.
• “Transform Methodology Applied to Some Inventory Problems”, Zeitschrift für Betriebswirtschaft, Vol. 77(3), 2007, 297 - 324.
• “Balancing Queueing Costs and Capacity Costs along the Assembly Line – A Queueing-Theoretic Approach with Accounting
• Implications”, in Corsten, H., Missbauer, H., (Eds), Produktions- und Logistikmanagement, Verlag Franz Vahlen, Munich 2007, 395 - 417.
• ”Planned lead time determination in a make-to-order remanufacturing system”, International Journal of Production Economics, Vol. 108(1-2), 2007, 426-435, (co-authors Ou Tang and Simone Zanoni).
• ”Extensions of MRP Theory with Application to Distribution and Remanufacturing”, Opening Keynote Address, Proceedings, Second International Workshop on Successful Strategies in Supply Chain Management, January 8-9, 2009, Hong Kong, 3-19.
• ”Optimal Lotsizing within MRP Theory”, Preprints of the 13th IFAC Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing (INCOM’09), Keynote Address, Moscow, Russia, June 3-5, 2009, 15-30, (co-authors L. Bogataj and M.Bogataj), Revised version published in Annual Reviews in Control, 34(1), 2010, 89-100.
• “The Newsboy problem when customer demand is a compound renewal process”, European Journal of Operational Research, Vol. 203(1), 2010, 134-142 (available online 7 July 2009).
• “The Newsboy problem when customer demand is a compound renewal process”, Opening Keynote Address, Eighth International Conference on Supply Chain Management and Information Systems (SCMIS 2010), Hong Kong, October 6 - 8, 2010.
• “Efficient location of industrial activity cells in a global supply chain”, International Journal of Production Economics, Article in Press, 2010. (Co-authors: Marija Bogataj, Ludvik Bogataj)
• “The space of solution alternatives in the optimal lotsizing problem for general assembly systems applying MRP theory”, International Journal of Production Economics, Article in Press, 2011. (Co-author: Ou Tang)
• “On the Representation of Timing for Different Structures within MRP Theory”, International Journal of Production Economics. Article in Press, 2011. (Co-author: Marija Bogataj)