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Ontario Tech acknowledges the lands and people of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation.

We are thankful to be welcome on these lands in friendship. The lands we are situated on are covered by the Williams Treaties and are the traditional territory of the Mississaugas, a branch of the greater Anishinaabeg Nation, including Algonquin, Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi. These lands remain home to many Indigenous nations and peoples.

We acknowledge this land out of respect for the Indigenous nations who have cared for Turtle Island, also called North America, from before the arrival of settler peoples until this day. Most importantly, we acknowledge that the history of these lands has been tainted by poor treatment and a lack of friendship with the First Nations who call them home.

This history is something we are all affected by because we are all treaty people in Canada. We all have a shared history to reflect on, and each of us is affected by this history in different ways. Our past defines our present, but if we move forward as friends and allies, then it does not have to define our future.

Learn more about Indigenous Education and Cultural Services

Amir Rastpour

Amir Rastpour
PhD

Associate Professor

Operations Management

Faculty of Business and Information Technology

Contact information

Business and Information Technology Building - Room 2012
North Oshawa
2000 Simcoe Street North
Oshawa, ON L1G 0C5

905.721.8668 ext. 3625

Amir.Rastpour@ontariotechu.ca
AmirRastpour.com

Research topics

  • stochastic models
  • queueing theory
  • statistics
  • big data analytics

Background

Dr. Amir Rastpour is an Associate Professor of Operations Management at the Faculty of Business and Information Technology (FBIT) in Ontario Tech University. He has received his PhD in Operations Management from the University of Alberta School of Business in 2015 and went on to become a postdoctoral fellow in Management Science at the Ivey Business School, Western University before joining Ontario Tech University in 2017.

HIs research interest is in applications of operations research and statistics in the health care sector. More specifically, he is interested in applying queuing theory, count regression models and empirical analysis methods to problems in the health-care sector, both at the planning level (such as demand prediction for heart attack treatment facilities and finding promising locations for these facilities) and at the operational level (such as emergency medical services operations). His recent focus has been on solving quasi-birth–death (QBD) processes with applications in analyzing real-world health care problems. 

Dr. Rastpour teaches Statistics and courses on operations management. In his classes, his students learn how to gain insights from raw data to facilitate decision making processes. His students learn data organization, presentation, analysis and interpretation skills by observing relevant and real examples. During each session, he provides numerous opportunities for his students to repeat and discuss materials that they have learned to facilitate their learning experience. 

Education

  • Postdoctoral fellow The Ivey Business School, Western University, Canada 2017
  • PhD, Operations Management Alberta School of Business, Canada 2015
  • Visiting PhD Student University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, U.S.A. 2014

Research and expertise

  • Applications: health-care sector
  • Methods: stochastic models, queueing theory, statistics, Big Data analytics

Ontario Tech University, Nominated for Student Choice Teaching Award 2019  

INFORMS Health Applications Society, Finalist for Best Student Paper 2015

CORS, Best Student Paper in Open Category 2015

University of Alberta Faculty of Graduate Studies, Graduate Travel 2014
Award, $1000.

University of Alberta Graduate Students’ Association Professional 2013 & 14
Development Award, $1000.

University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry Interfaculty 2011 - 2014

Graduate Studentship Award, $24000 per annum, plus tuition for 4 years.

Alberta School of Business Scholarship, $24000 per annum for 4 years. 2009 - 2013

University of Alberta Provost Doctoral Entrance Award, tuition fees 2009 - 2011 for first two years of PhD studies.

Best Poster Award, Business Research Conference, Edmonton AB. 2010

Involvement

  • Publications

    Rastpour A, Ingolfsson A, Sandıkçı B (2021) Algorithms for queueing systems with reneging and priorities modeled as quasi-birth-death processes. INFORMS Journal on Computing Forthcoming.

    Rastpour A, Ingolfsson A, Kolfal B (2020) Modeling Yellow and Red Alert durations
    for ambulance systems. Production and Operations Management 29(8):1972–1991, URL
    https://doi.org/10.1111/poms.13190.
    • Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) Health
      Applications Society 2015, Finalist for Best Student Paper Award.
      Amir Rastpour CV, 12 January 2022, Page 1 of 4
    • Canadian Operational Research Society (CORS) 2015, Best Student Paper Award in the Open Category.

    Rastpour A, Bourdeau-Marche J (2020) A similar algebraic rule for the inverse of M-matrices and scalars. Mathematics Magazine Forthcoming.

    Rastpour A, Begen MA, Louie AV, Zaric GS (2018) Variability of waiting times for the 4 most prevalent cancer types in Ontario: a retrospective population-based analysis. CMAJ open 6(2):E227, URL https://doi.org/10.9778/cmajo.20170118.

    Rastpour A, Esfahani M (2010) Mathematical models for selection of optimal place and size of connections considering the time-value of money. European Journal of Operational Research 200(3):764–773, URL https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2009.01.050

  • Manuscript under review

    Rastpour A, McGregor C (2021) Machine learning methods for predicting patient wait times in mental health care. Under review last version submitted in December 2021.

  • Working Papers

    Rastpour A. Predicting heart attack incidence in Alberta. With Ingolfsson A, Hagtvedt R, Kaul P.

    Rastpour A. Dynamic programming for ambulance fleet management. With Ingolfsson A, Zaric GS, Begen M.

    Rastpour A. Evaluating capacity planning methods for loss systems: application to emergency medical services. With Delasay M, Ingolfsson A. 

    Rastpour A. Age guessing: A game to introduce fundamental statistical concepts. With Sohrab S.

  • Conference Presentations (Past 5 years)
    Rastpour A. Algorithms for queueing systems with reneging and priorities modeled as quasi-birth-death processes. With Ingolfsson A, Sandık ̧cı B.
    • CORS, Toronto (online) ON.                                                                          2021
    • INFORMS, Anaheim (online) CA.                                                                  2021
    • CanQueue, Banff (online) AB.                                                                      2020
    • CanQueue, Toronto ON.                                                                                2019
    • CanQueue, Edmonton AB.                                                                            2018
    Rastpour A. Machine Learning Methods for Predicting Patient Wait Times in Mental Health Care. With McGregor C.
    • CORS, Toronto ON.                                                                                         2021
    Rastpour A. Evaluating capacity planning methods for loss systems: application to emergency medical services. With Delasay M, Ingolfsson A.
    • POMS, Washington DC.                                                                                 2019
    • INFORMS, Phoenix AZ.                                                                                  2018
    Rastpour A. Variability of waiting times for the 4 most prevalent cancer types in Ontario: a retrospective population-based analysis. With Begen MA, Louie AV, Zaric GS.
    • INFORMS Healthcare, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.                                  2017
    Rastpour A. Dynamic programming for ambulance fleet management. With Ingolfsson A, Zaric GS, Begen M.
    • CORS, Banff AB.                                                                                            2016
    • European Conference on Operational Research, Poznan, Poland.            2016
    Rastpour A. Modeling emergency rooms as quasi-birth-death processes. With Ingolfsson A, Sandık ̧cı B.
    • CORS/INFORMS, Montreal QC.                                                                    2015
    • INFORMS, Philadelphia PA.                                                                          2015
    Rastpour A. Modeling Red and Yellow Alert durations for ambulance systems as partial busy periods. With Ingolfsson A, Kolfal B.
    • European Conference on Operational Research, Valencia, Spain.            2018
    • INFORMS Healthcare, Nashville TN. Finalist for Best Paper.                     2015
    • CORS/INFORMS, Montreal QC. Best Paper Winner.                                   2015