The University of Exeter team has successfully delivered a special session on the ARSINOE project at the 12th Simulation Workshop (SW25), a prestigious biennial event organised by the UK Operational Research Society. The workshop brought together over 120 academics, practitioners, and students from around the world to share their latest research outcomes in the field of modelling and simulation.
The special session titled “ARSINOE: Simulation for Climate Resilience”, chaired by Professor Albert Chen at the Centre for Water Systems (CWS), University of Exeter, was held on 2nd April to showcase the developments and findings from the ARSINOE project, which is funded by the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 programme.
The Co-chair of SW25 was Professor Nav Mustafee from the Centre for Simulation, Analytics and Modelling (CSAM), University of Exeter Business School, who is also a member of the ARSINOE team.
The session featured a series of presentations that highlighted the project’s innovative approaches to enhancing climate resilience. Dr. Otto Chen, a Research Fellow at CWS and CSAM, kicked off the session with a presentation on the hybrid simulation model developed in ARSINOE for multi-sectoral resource allocation during disasters. This cutting-edge model has the potential to significantly improve emergency response efforts and save lives.
Gareth Lewis, a CWS Research Fellow, then took the stage to demonstrate how digital twins enables flood forecasting to support more effective flood crisis management. His presentation highlighted flood impact on transportation networks that could delay vital emergency services.
Georgios Alexandros Chatzistefanou, a PhD student at the CWS funded by KWR Water, presented his research on evaluating the criticality of critical infrastructure nodes within complex networks. His methodology aims to prioritise the protection of assets and minimise disruptions to critical services, ultimately enhancing societal resilience against climate hazards.
The presentations sparked intense interest among the audience, generating lively discussions and debates among participants. The ARSINOE project UK partners, the Torbay Council and the Westcountry Rivers Trust also joined the discussion with the conference attendees. The session’s success underscores the significance of the ARSINOE project’s research and its potential to drive meaningful impact in the field of climate resilience.
Professor Albert Chen, the lead investigator for ARSINOE, said: “By sharing their knowledge and expertise established in ARSINOE with a global audience, the University of Exeter team has contributed to the advancement of modelling and simulation research, paving the way for more effective solutions to address the challenges posed by climate change.” SW25 Co-chair and ARSINOE co-investigator Professor Nav Mustafee said: “In the 23-year history of the Simulation Workshop, this was the first time a session was devoted to presentations from a single research project. Our work demonstrated the synergy derived from the use of OR/MS simulations and applied computing with flood modelling approaches, and the opportunities of developing hybrid modelling formulations for climate resilience”.