OR/MS Today articles from August 2007

OR/MS Today archives from August 2007

Those who can, teach.(INSIDE STORY)
August 1, 2007... "Those who can, do; those who can't, teach." George Bernard Shaw, the famed Irish playwright, is widely credited with crafting some variation of that notoriously contemptuous phrase (OK, it's clever on a certain level) more than 100 years...

Solving the meeting conflict problem.(PRESIDENT'S DESK)(Conference news)
August 1, 2007... As I write this column, I'm preparing to leave for the INFORMS international meeting in Puerto Rico (July 8-11). The meeting was scheduled two years ago. I'm looking forward to interesting technical talks, scenic receptions and the opportunity...

Expectations vs. complexity.(INFORMS ONLINE)
August 1, 2007... INFORMS Online IoL) has been greatly successful in the past. However, expectations are growing as users interact with other Web sites while our ability to deliver is constrained by organizational and technological complexity. People are...

Designing, selling a Hybrid course.(ISSUES IN EDUCATION)(Column)
August 1, 2007... In a previous column ("Your Next Teaching Vehicle May be a Hybrid," OR/MS Today, June, 2007), we considered some of the persistent challenges we face in finding a sustainable home in the MBA environment, most notably the intense competition for...

Edelman Award for President Carter?(QED)
August 1, 2007... The New Scientist [1], citing an article by Professor Michele Barry in the New England Journal of Medicine [2], recently described the huge impact in Africa (and Asia) by a particular project of the Carter Center. By disrupting the "supply...

Look before you leap into Ph.D.(VIEWPOINT)
August 1, 2007... So you're thinking of pursuing a Ph.D. in O.R.? The first and most important step in the process of making this life decision is to look inward and have a candid conversation with yourself. Is this what you really want to do, and not what...

Scientists tailor - made for today's world.(FORUM)
August 1, 2007... Rumor is that Las Vegas won't have them any more. As a group they don't gamble enough. When they do gamble, they don't lose enough money. When they play Blackjack, one of the few games where a player can actually turn the odds against the...

What a wonderful (MIT) World.(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2007... To The Editor: Thank you, Laurie Everett and Dick Larson, for the article on MIT World that appeared in the April issue of OR/MS Today ("MIT World: See It Now," pp. 48-51). The information was incredibly valuable, and I am certain that...

OR/MS at Ford Motor Company.(ROUND TABLE PROFILES)(Case study)
August 1, 2007... Editor's note: This is another in a series of articles profiling members of the INFORMS Roundtable. AS THE WORLD'S THIRD LARGEST CAR AND TRUCK MANUFACTURER, Ford Motor Company's operations reflect nearly all of the OR/MS topics familiar to...

It's more than a job or an adventure: an inside look at the Naval Postgraduate School, where teaching, learning and applying operations research is serious business for all concerned.(Innovative Educators)
August 1, 2007... Some people think of the Naval Postgraduate School as one of the nation's best-kept secrets. In the operations research world, NPS has a fairly large footprint, but still there are members of INFORMS who might not know much about NPS-OR. I...

Clarity in the fog of war.
August 1, 2007... Operations research as a whole benefits from having hard problems in data analysis and statistical inference engaged by those with expertise in these areas. Statistical analysis also benefits from treating problems as having more than a...

Marketing the profession - to our students: eight ideas to effectively "sell" an operations research course to MBAs.(Innovative Educators)
August 1, 2007... The INFORMS marketing the profession (the "Science of Better") initiative is attempting to make senior executives more aware of operations research (O.R.). Senior executives are a key audience and building awareness with them is important to...

O.R. in the classroom--get real! Devout "Woolseyian" brings consulting experience, clients into the classroom.(Innovative Educators)(Column)
August 1, 2007... I have been a Woolseyian for a long time now. For the uninitiated, Gene Woolsey, professor emeritus at the Colorado School of Mines, has been the self-proclaimed "principal gadfly of the OR/MS profession" for many years. While I haven't...

O.R. in the Jesuit tradition; What's an operations research professor doing in a nice, liberal arts school like Le Moyne College?(Innovative Educators)
August 1, 2007... This year marks my 20-year anniversary at Le Moyne College, a liberal arts Jesuit university in Syracuse, N.Y. Le Moyne is one of 28 sister institutions in the United States and more than 100 Jesuit universities worldwide. When I accepted the...

Teaching vs. the real world: confessions and convictions of an entrepreneur-turned-professor on his return to university life.(Innovative Educators)
August 1, 2007... When I first returned to academia from industry I had great enthusiasm for my new career. Frankly, I also felt a significant amount of relief at getting out of the start-up company lifestyle, and felt that university life would be more...

Teaching decision skills to troubled teens; Non-profit foundation aims to help young people make better choices about their lives.(Innovative Educators)
August 1, 2007... The U.S. Department of Justice recorded 2.2 million juvenile arrests in 2003 [1] Juvenile courts handled 1.6 million delinquency cases in 2002, up from 1.1 million in 1985. Nearly 25,000 16-year-olds in residential placement have an average...

2007 INFORMS Annual Meeting: from tours to tutorials, Seattle program packed with events.(INFORMS NEWS)
August 1, 2007... Are you ready to sip your latte while listening to exciting research at the 2007 INFORMS Annual Meeting in Seattle? Come experience the spirit of technology in downtown Seattle and discuss current research issues while sampling the excellent...

WSC 2007 registration open.(INFORMS NEWS)
August 1, 2007... Winter Simulation Conference 2007 registration is now open. 2007 marks the 40th anniversary of WSC conferences. Take advantage of the early registration savings and come join us in Washington, D.C., Dec. 9-12. Register today! The...

INFORMS needs your help.(INFORMS NEWS)
August 1, 2007... INFORMS needs your help spreading the word about OR/MS. As members of the field, we often encounter OR/MS undergraduates, but there are many talented math and computer science students who have never heard of our field. Many of us had a...

Call for submissions: UPS-SOLA Dissertation Award.(INFORMS NEWS)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... The INFORMS Section on Location Analysis (SOLA) seeks nominations for the bi-annual "UPS-SOLA Dissertation Award" given to the best dissertation in the area of location analysis. Dissertation eligibility is as follows: * Written in...

INFORMS Prize receives makeover.(INFORMS NEWS)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Key changes are in progress for the INFORMS Prize. Applications for the 2008 INFORMS Prize recognizing outstanding, sustained use of operations research within an organization are now being accepted. The award is presented to an organization...

San Juan, sunsets and salsa.(INFORMS NEWS)(Photograph)
August 1, 2007... If the photographic evidence is any indication, a good time was had by all at INFORMS International Puerto Rico 2007, an international O.R. conference recently held at the Westin Rio Mar Beach Resort outside San Juan. Clockwise, from the left:...

Position statement.(INFORMS NEWS)
August 1, 2007... Along with many other INFORMS members, I share a passionate enthusiasm for the field of operations research (O.R.) and what O.R. does to make a real difference in the world. I am grateful for the nomination, and I am energized about the...

Position statement.(INFORMS NEWS)
August 1, 2007... What is operations research/management science (ORMS) and what role should INFORMS play with respect to it? The scientific method provides an appealing straw man to frame this question. By the scientific method I mean: (i) gathering data,...

People.(INFORMS NEWS)
August 1, 2007... Robert T. Sumichrast, former dean of Louisiana State University's business college, was named dean of the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business, effective July 1. Sumichrast succeeds P. George Benson, who left UGA to become...

Minitab 15: one of the "big beasts" of statistical computing capable of much more than basic use.(SOFTWAREREVIEW)
August 1, 2007... I RECENTLY COMPLETED a software review for OR/MS Today of JMP 6.0.3, so I thought it would be interesting to write a comparative review for Minitab 15-- a statistical package versus a statistical package. The focus of my review of JMP was...

The golden goose.(ORACLE)
August 1, 2007... Once upon a time, long ago, in a land far away, a farmer had a goose that laid golden eggs. It was not too clear how this happened. The goose ate seemingly ordinary food and did the ordinary things geese do, and demanded nothing more--but...