Research

Research Area

My research interests are in the general area of stochastic models in Operations Research. I have done work in queueing theory, reliability theory, and stochastic scheduling, although queueing theory has been my primary interest.

My recent research focuses on polling models in queueing theory. Polling models are used to represent systems of multiple service facilities that are attended by a single server that travels from queue to queue in some prescribed manner. These models have many important applications (materials handling, machine maintenance and repair, computer networks, traffic control, telephone switching systems, etc.) and, in general, they are very complicated. Because of the complexity involved, it would be advantageous to be able to decompose the analysis of these models into simpler modules, and then to study and link together the simpler pieces. The objective of my current research effort is to develop general, simplifying, decompositions for polling models. This work, in collaboration with Professor Robert B. Cooper (Florida Atlantic University) and Professor Mandyam M. Srinivasan (University of Tennessee at Knoxville), was funded by a three-year grant from the National Science Foundation.

Selected Publications

• Niu, S.-C. (1980). "A Single Server Queueing Loss Model with Heterogeneous Arrival and Service." Operations Research, Vol. 28, No. 3 (Part 1), pp. 584-593. Abstract; Full Paper

• Niu, S.-C. (1980). "Bounds for the Expected Delays in Some Tandem Queues." Journal of Applied Probability, Vol. 17, No. 3, pp. 831-838. Abstract; Full Paper

• Chiang, D. T., and Niu, S.-C. (1980). "On the Distribution of Time to First System Failure." Journal of Applied Probability, Vol. 17, No. 2, pp. 481-489. Abstract; Full Paper

• Niu, S.-C. (1981). "On the Comparison of Waiting Times in Tandem Queues." Journal of Applied Probability, Vol. 18, No. 3, pp. 707-714. Abstract; Full Paper

• Niu, S.-C. (1984). "Inequalities Between Arrival Averages and Time Averages in Stochastic Processes Arising from Queueing Theory." Operations Research, Vol. 32, No. 4, pp. 785-795. Abstract; Full Paper

• Cooper, R. B., and Niu, S.-C. (1986). "Benes's Formula for M/G/1-FIFO 'Explained' by Preemptive-Resume LIFO." Journal of Applied Probability, Vol. 23, No. 2, pp. 550-554. Abstract; Full Paper

• Ku, P.-S., and Niu, S.-C. (1986). "On Johnson's Two-Machine Flow Shop with Random Processing Times." Operations Research, Vol. 34, No. 1, pp. 130-136. Abstract; Full Paper

• Niu, S.-C. (1988). "Representing Workloads in GI/G/1 Queues through the Preemptive-Resume LIFO Queue Discipline." Queueing Systems, Theory and Applications, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 157-178. Abstract; Full Paper

• Niu, S.-C., and Cooper, R. B. (1989). "Duality and Other Results for M/G/1 and GI/M/1 Queues, via a New Ballot Theorem." Mathematics of Operations Research, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 281-293. Abstract; Full Paper

• Niu, S.-C., and Cooper, R. B. (1991). "A Duality Relation for Busy Cycles in GI/G/1 Queues." Queueing Systems, Theory and Applications, Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 203-209. Abstract; Full Paper

• Li, J., and Niu, S.-C. (1992). "The Waiting-Time Distribution for the GI/G/1 Queue under the D-Policy." Probability in the Engineering and Informational Sciences, Vol. 6, No. 3, pp. 287-308. Abstract; Full Paper

• Niu, S.-C., and Cooper, R. B. (1993). "Transform-Free Analysis of M/G/1/K and Related Queues." Mathematics of Operations Research, Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 486-510. Abstract; Full Paper

• Jain, D. C., and Niu, S.-C. (1994). "Analyzing Household Brand Switching: A Stochastic Model." European Journal of Operational Research, Vol. 76, No. 2, pp. 298-308. Abstract; Full Paper

• Srinivasan, M. M., Niu, S.-C., and Cooper, R. B. (1995). "Relating Polling Models with Zero and Nonzero Switchover Times." Queueing Systems, Theory and Applications, Vol. 19, pp. 149-168. Abstract; Full Paper

• Cooper, R. B., Niu, S.-C., and Srinivasan, M. M. (1996). "A Decomposition Theorem for Polling Models: The Switchover Times are Effectively Additive." Operations Research, Vol. 44, No. 4, pp. 629-633. Abstract; Full Paper

• Cooper, R. B., Niu, S.-C., and Srinivasan, M. M. (1998). "Some Reflections on the Renewal-Theory Paradox in Queueing Theory." Festschrift in honor of Professor Ryszard Syski (Special Issue of Journal of Applied Mathematics and Stochastic Analysis). Abstract; Full Paper

• Cooper, R. B., Niu, S.-C., and Srinivasan, M. M. (1998). "When Does Forced Idle Time Improve Performance in Polling Models?" Management Science, Vol. 44, No. 8, pp. 1079-1086. Abstract; Full Paper

• Cooper, R. B., Niu, S.-C., and Srinivasan, M. M. (1999). "Setups in Polling Models: Does it Make Sense to Set Up if No Work is Waiting?" Journal of Applied Probability, Vol. 36, No. 2, pp. 585-592. Abstract; Full Paper

• Niu, S.-C. (2002). "A Stochastic Formulation of the Bass Model of New-Product Diffusion." Mathematical Problems in Engineering, Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 249-263. Abstract; Full Paper

• Niu, S.-C. (2006). "A Piecewise-Diffusion Model of New-Product Demands." Operations Research, Vol. 54, No. 4, pp. 678-695. Abstract; Full Paper; Online Companion

• Niu, S.-C. (1996). "Arrival-Epoch Stochastic Decompositions for M/G/1 Queues with Generalized Vacations.

Back to Shun-Chen Niu's Home Page ...