OR/MS Today articles from December 2006

OR/MS Today archives from December 2006

Nerds gone wild.(INSIDE STORY)(Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences conference)(Editorial)
December 1, 2006... Another round of quick shots and bon mots from the Three-Dot Lounge, this time located on an outbound flight from Pittsburgh, site of the fall INFORMS meeting: Roll the numbers (and the credits)... 3,781 Number of people who made it...

Volunteerism alive and well.(PRESIDENT'S DESK)(INFORMS' conference)
December 1, 2006... In the afterglow of the 2006 Annual INFORMS meeting in Pittsburgh, I can only marvel at the dedication and energy of the numerous volunteers in our community and the professionalism of our staff. At last count, we had a record attendance of...

Time for change ... again.(INFORMS ONLINE)
December 1, 2006... It's closing on six years since I succeeded Mike Trick (of course, nobody could replace him!) as editor in chief of INFORMS Online, so this December marks the end of my second and final term. We've accomplished a lot in that time, but there is...

The Imposter Syndrome.(WAS IT SOMETHING I SAID)
December 1, 2006... I can't remember how I felt on the day of my college graduation but I do remember how I looked. That spring, I had played role in a stage production of Shakespeare's "A Winter's Tale," and our director had persuaded the men in the cast to grow...

The Iraq situation: democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on what's for dinner.(Q.E.D.)
December 1, 2006... Why should O.R. professionals be interested in Iraq? In the Pittsburgh INFORMS conference (November 2006), Karla Hoffman expressed concern about O.R. people not being household names. To get there, we could try to analyze highly visible...

Teaching MIP modeling and solving.(ISSUES IN EDUCATION)(mixed integer programs)
December 1, 2006... Dear reader, do you know what the maximum sizes of linear programs are that can be solved at present in acceptable running time? What about instances of integer or mixed integer programming? What about special combinatorial optimization...

The AIDS pandemic: a worldwide challenge for O.R.(FORUM)
December 1, 2006... "It would be logistically difficult to provide two free glasses of water per person every day for the rest of their lives, let alone provide this water plus HAART [high active antiretroviral therapy]." --Ernest Darkoh et al, Journal of HIV...

O.R. soars at Boeing.(ROUNDTABLE PROFILES)(operations research)(Company overview)
December 1, 2006... BOEING IS THE WORLD'S LEADING AEROSPACE COMPANY and the largest manufacturer of commercial jetliners and military aircraft combined. With additional capabilities in rotorcraft, electronic and defense systems, missiles, satellites, launch...

Process, people, politics drive O.R.'s impact.(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2006... To the Editor: I read Mark Daskin's analysis of "Models vs. Problems" in the August OR/MS Today with great interest. He clearly demonstrates what we used to call "the academic/practitioner chasm." I was a senior manager in a Fortune 250...

Schizophrenia metaphor perpetuates inaccurate stereotype.(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2006... To the Editor: An article in the August 2006 issue of OR/MS Today by Professor Salwa Ammar has as its title and major metaphor "Antidote for Academic Schizophrenia." The author writes that "academic schizophrenia... can be an occupational...

Making a better world.(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2006... To the Editor: Thanks to John Kettelle and OR/MS Today for the engaging, lucid article, "When Three's Not a Crowd" (October 2006). I've long believed that the [INFORMS marketing campaign] Science of Better is making a better world, and...

Dietrich gets down to earth: a candid conversation with Brenda Dietrich, the no-nonsense president-elect of INFORMS.(Q & A)(Interview)
December 1, 2006... BRENDA DIETRICH IS NOTHING IF NOT DOWN TO EARTH. The mother of four, who happens to be the director of Mathematical Sciences at IBM Research and the president-elect of INFORMS, was recently featured in a human-interest story in The Journal News...

How to survive your 15 minutes of fame: when their O.R. study linking obesity to increased vehicle fuel consumption triggered a national media storm, researchers weathered a war of words and wits with reporters, broadcasters, bloggers and critics. Here are the lessons learned.
December 1, 2006... Academics and industrial researchers work on problems that they (hopefully) feel are important and have some significance. This research may involve the proof of a theorem that sheds new light on a well-known problem, or a clever algorithm or...

Back on the beat: two-day Washington, D.C., symposium reconnects O.R. and criminal justice.
December 1, 2006... A two-day symposium recently held in Arlington, Va., helped reinvigorate an important but neglected field of operations research: criminal justice applications. The symposium brought together about 40 police officers and about 35 operations...

Should the U.S. have attacked Iraq? Can decision theory shed light on polarizing debate?
December 1, 2006... SEVERAL YEARS HAVE PASSED SINCE THE U.S.-LED COALITION PUT AN END TO SADDAM HUSSEIN'S REGIME, YET DEBATE AND CONTROVERSY CONTINUE TO BESIEGE PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH'S DECISION TO ATTACK IRAQ. Opponents of the war condemn the administration for...

New age of optimization applications: increased computing speed, advances in algorithms and emphasis on modeling boost production for O.R. professionals and business users alike.(Real-Time Work)(operational research)
December 1, 2006... WE ARE MOVING TO A DAY where managers want to do real-time adjustments to their plans and schedules, as well as interactively perform complex analysis in real-time on a desktop computer. In particular, these managers want to simulate different...

Improving hard decisions: biennial survey of decision analysis software offers side-by-side comparison of critical O.R. tools.(SOFTWARE SURVEY)(Directory)
December 1, 2006... Most decisions are trivial. Decisions are trivial because either the correct choice is obvious or because the consequences of the decision are not worth investing significant time and energy in making the choice. But some decisions are hard....

2007 INFORMS election results.(INFORMS NEWS)(Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences)(Brief article)(List)
December 1, 2006... Following are results from the INFORMS 2007 elections: PRESIDENT-ELECT: Cynthia Barnhart TREASURER: Stephen M. Robinson VICE PRESIDENT-INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: Warren Lieberman VICE PRESIDENT-MEETINGS: Rina...

Widespread use of OR/MS delivers INFORMS Prize to Schneider National.(INFORMS NEWS)
December 1, 2006... The INFORMS Prize was awarded to Schneider National for its "demonstrated history of using OR/MS to provide benefits at strategic, tactical and operational levels." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The INFORMS Prize honors organizations that...

Trio share von Neumann Theory Prize.(INFORMS NEWS)(2006 John von Neumann Theory Prize)(Martin Grotschel, Laszlo Lovasz and Alexander Schrijver)(Institute For Operations Research and The Management Sciences)
December 1, 2006... The 2006 John von Neumann Theory Prize was awarded to Martin Grotschel, Laszlo Lovasz and Alexander Schrijver for their fundamental path-breaking work in combinatorial optimization. Committee Chair Uri Rothblum made the presentation at the...

Glasserman's book earns Lanchester Prize.(INFORMS NEWS)(Frederick W. Lanchester Prize, Paul Glasserman, Monte Carlo Methods in Financial Engineering)
December 1, 2006... The Frederick W. Lanchester Prize for 2006 was awarded to Paul Glasserman for his book, "Monte Carlo Methods in Financial Engineering" (Springer, New York, 2004). Committee Chair John Birge presented the award at the INORMS annual meeting in...

Helping others helps Chandru earn President's Award.(INFORMS NEWS)(Vijay Chandru, Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences awards)
December 1, 2006... Vijay Chandru received the INFORMS President's Award for "his wide-ranging and critical contributions that extend the use of computers to low-income countries and for his pioneering work applying advanced data analysis techniques to the...

Ross wins Expository Writing Award.(INFORMS NEWS)(Sheldon M. Ross of University of Southern California, Institute For Operations Research and The Management Sciences award)
December 1, 2006... Sheldon M. Ross, the Epstein chair professor, Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering, University of Southern California, won the 2006 INFORMS Expository Writing Award for his many textbooks on probability, stochastic processes and their...

Keller, McCallum receive Kimball Medals.(INFORMS NEWS)(L. Robin Keller and Charles J. McCallum Jr., 2006 George E. Kimball Medal, Institute For Operations Research and The Management Sciences)
December 1, 2006... L. Robin Keller and Charles J. McCallum Jr. were presented the 2006 George E. Kimball Medal for their many contributions to the field of operations research and for their distinguished service to INFORMS and its predecessor organizations, ORSA...

Camm takes Prize for the Teaching of OR/MS Practice.(INFORMS NEWS)(Jeffrey D. Camm, operations management)(2006 INFORMS Prize)
December 1, 2006... Jeffrey D. Camm received the 2006 INFORMS Prize for the Teaching of OR/MS Practice for "his extraordinary dedication to his students' learning of management science practice and the resulting impact they have had in industry." Prize Committee...

Tang earns Dantzig Dissertation honors.(INFORMS NEWS)(Kevin Tang, 2006 George B. Dantzig Dissertation Award Committee)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Kevin Tang of the California Institute of Technology earned first-place honors from the 2006 George B. Dantzig Dissertation Award Committee for the best dissertation in any area of operations research and the management sciences that is both...

Charnes, Cooper made an 'impact' on O.R.(INFORMS NEWS)(Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences awards, Abraham Charnes and William W. Cooper recieve awards for work on data envelopment analysis )
December 1, 2006... Abraham Charnes and William W. Cooper received the INFORMS Impact Award for their seminal work on data envelopment analysis (DEA). Prize committee chair Daniel Adelman presented the award at the INFORMS annual meeting in Pittsburgh. The INFORMS...

INFORMS meetings.(INFORMS NEWS)(Calendar)
December 1, 2006... INFORMS National & International Meetings 2007 April 29-May 1 INFORMS Practice Conference: Applying Science to the Art of Business Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre Vancouver, BC, Canada Chair: Jack Levis, UPS ...

Patrick T. Harker, dean of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, was named as the 26th president of the University of Delaware.(PEOPLE)
December 1, 2006... Patrick T. Harker, dean of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, was named as the 26th president of the University of Delaware. Harker, who served as the editor in chief of INFORMS' flagship journal, Operations Research, from...

Robert "Rob" Dell, an associate professor at the Naval Postgraduate School's No. 1 ranked Operations Research Department, received the prestigious Richard W. Hamming Teaching Award at a ceremony at the university.(PEOPLE)
December 1, 2006... Robert "Rob" Dell, an associate professor at the Naval Postgraduate School's No. 1 ranked Operations Research Department, received the prestigious Richard W. Hamming Teaching Award at a ceremony at the university. The department was named top...

Barry Render, the Charles Harwood Professor of Operations Management at Rollins College's Graduate School of Business, in Winter Park, Fla., was named to the Board of Directors of Action Products International, Inc., a publicly traded company.(PEOPLE)
December 1, 2006... Barry Render, the Charles Harwood Professor of Operations Management at Rollins College's Graduate School of Business, in Winter Park, Fla., was named to the Board of Directors of Action Products International, Inc., a publicly traded company....

Saul I. Gass, professor emeritus at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, held a book signing at the INFORMS meeting in Pittsburgh.(PEOPLE)(Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences)(Perspectives in Operations Research: Papers in Honor of Saul Gass' 80th Birthday)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Saul I. Gass, professor emeritus at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, held a book signing at the INFORMS meeting in Pittsburgh. The event celebrated the recent publication of "Perspectives in Operations Research:...

The artists' parable.(ORACLE)(SAS Silver Circle Special Achievement Award)
December 1, 2006... "So tell me," an admiring colleague asked, "what was this award I just read about that you won?" "You mean the SAS Silver Circle Special Achievement Award?" the honoree, a well-known O.R. analyst, responded. "The one that was in the...