OSR Funds Effort Toward Improving Retrial Queuing Computer Systems Published July 27, 2007 AFOSR Public Affairs ARLINGTON, Va. -- The mission of the Air Fore Office of Scientific Research here is to fund science and technology basic research that will improve and expand the capabilities of the Air Force. Within AFOSR mission parameters, one area of importance emphasized by Air Force is communication networks. In a battlefield environment, networks need to perform seamlessly and without threat of failure to ensure the greatest possibility of mission success. DoD and senior Air Force leadership have determined that the next generation of information networks has to support thousands of devices simultaneously while handling a multitude of data formats. Earlier this year, AFOSR provided funding to Dr. Jeffrey P. Kharoufeh, Associate Professor of Operations Research at the Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, for the next three years to develop mathematical models that will be used by future computer engineers and scientists. Users of the models will be able to analyze and solve problems associated with large computer network structures such as unreliability, congestion, processing delays, and availability. "Though the work by Doctor Kharoufeh and his graduate students at AFIT will have long lasting benefits to the Air Force and the computer industry, it is just the tip of the iceberg of our broad and comprehensive approach to tackle these kinds of problems the Air Force expects to face in the next 10 years or so," said Maj. Todd Combs, program manager for optimization and discrete mathematics research portfolio at AFOSR. Kharoufeh's work falls under this portfolio. The goal of the portfolio is to develop mathematical methods for solving large or complex problems such as those occurring in target tracking, strategic planning, and homeland defense. These problems can often be formulated and solved by mathematical programs. Kharoufeh's research effort, entitled "Analysis and Optimal Control of Unreliable Retrial Queuing Systems," focuses on retrial queues of networked and single station computer information systems. Retrial queues are commonly used in the design, performance evaluation, and control of computer and telecommunications networks. By funding research programs such as Kharoufeh's, AFOSR continues to expand the horizon of the Air Force basic research program. Many of the technological breakthroughs enjoyed by millions today, such as lasers, GPS, and the computer mouse trace their scientific roots to research first funded by AFOSR.