We present a method to solve the free-boundary problem that arises in the pricing of classical American options. Such free-boundary problems arise when one attempts to solve optimal-stopping problems set in continuous time. American option pricing is one of the most popular optimal-stopping...

The problem of pricing an American option written on an underlying asset with constant price volatility has been studied extensively in literature. Real-world data, however, demonstrates that volatility is not constant and stochastic volatility models are used to account for dynamic volatility...

The optimal-exercise policy of an American option dictates when the option should be exercised. In this paper, we consider the implications of missing the optimal exercise time of an American option. For the put option, this means holding the option until it is deeper in-the-money when the...

Cost-of-service is the typical regulatory scheme used for natural gas local distribution companies (LDCs). The profit of a regulated LDC is a return on investment, based on the capital she owns. The cost paid by consumers is, in general, equal to the cost incurred by the LDC for gas procurement...

A practical mathematical programming model for the strategic fuel diversification problem is presented. The model is designed to consider the tradeoffs between the expected costs of investments in capacity, operating and maintenance costs, average fuel costs, and the variability of fuel costs....

Many outpatient clinics are experimenting with open access scheduling. Under open access, patients see their physicians within a day or two of making their appointment request, and long term patient booking is very limited. The hope is that these short appointment lead times will improve patient...

Fuel diversification implies the selection of a mix of generation technologies for long-term electricity generation. The goal is to strike a good balance between reduced costs and reduced risk. The method of analysis that has been advocated and adopted for such studies is the mean-variance...