University of Montreal


Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Department of Computer Science and Operations Research


Research Profile

Felisa J. Vázquez-Abad, Associate Professor

I am currently tenured Associate Professor at the Computer Science and OR Department (IRO) of the University of Montreal, where I have worked since 1993.

My research interests are:


Background:


Education

1989 Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics, Brown University, USA.
1984 M.Sc. in Statistics and Operations Research, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
1983 B.Sc. in Physics, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

Professional

12/97-01/98 Visiting Researcher, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne, AUSTRALIA.
1998 Visting Professor, INRS-Telecommunications, University of Quebec, CANADA.
1996 Associate Professor, Department of Computer Sciences and Operations Research, University of Montreal, CANADA.
1993 Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Sciences and Operations Research, University of Montreal, CANADA.
1992 Research Associate, INRS-Telecommunications, University of Quebec, CANADA.
1990 Postdoctoral Fellow, INRS-Telecommunications, University of Quebec, CANADA.
1989 Visiting Assistant Professor, Brown University, USA.

Distinctions and Awards

FCAR Young Researcher's Award 1994-1997. FCAR: Canadian Funds for the Advacement of Research.
NSERC WF Award 1993-1998. NSERC: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
NASA Fellowship, 09/1987-05/1988.
Elected Member of the Sigma-Xi Scientific Society, 1987. AMS: American Mathematical Society
Elected Associate Member of the Sigma-Xi Scientific Society, 1986. AMS.
Tuition scholarship, Division of Applied Mathematics, 01/1987-05/1989. Brown University.
Stipend Schaolarship (Ph.D.), Research Institute in Applied Mathematics and Systems (IIMAS), 01/1985-05/1988. UNAM.
Graduated with Honors, M.Sc. in Statistics and Operations Research, 1984. UNAM.
Scholarship (M.Sc.), IIMAS, 10/1982-03/1983. UNAM.
Award to Best Students, B.Sc. in Physics, 1984, UNAM.
Scholarship (B.Sc.), Physics Institute, 10/1979-10/1980. UNAM.


Overview:

I did my Ph.D. thesis on the use of decentralized stochastic approximation for adaptive control in communications networks, under the supervision of Harold J. Kushner.

In 1990 I came to Montreal to work as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the INRS-Telecommunications, an Institute for Scientific Research which is jointly supported by the Government and the University of Quebec, as well as the companies Northern Telecom and Bell Northern. In December 1991 I was promoted to Research Assistant. My work there focused primarily on the use of adaptive techniques (particularly learning automata) for dynamic routing and flow control in packet-switched networks. I joined the team headed by Lorne Mason under the CITR (Canadian Institute for Telecommunications Research), a Government funded programme within the Centers of Excellence.

In 1993 I obtained an NSERC award (Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada) and a position as an Assistant Professor at the IRO Department. I have been teaching Stochastic Models, general OR courses and the Graduate Simulation course. The contact with students has motivated a significant amount of effort to apply the learning mechanisms that I have studied and the sensitivity analysis methods that I have developped, in areas other than telecommunications. In 1996 I was promoted to Associate Professor and awarded tenure.

For a more detailed description, please take a look at my research progress and teaching interests. Citations refer to my vita.