OR/MS Today articles from February 2005

OR/MS Today archives from February 2005

Software survey saga.(INSIDE STORY)
February 1, 2005... One of the more labor-intensive editorial exercises we conduct on a regular basis (besides gently arm-twisting the dozens of authors and columnists who graciously and without compensation contribute their time, expertise and writing skills to...

Focus best minds on most important problems.(PRESIDENT'S DESK)(managing logistics after disaster)
February 1, 2005... The tragedy of the great tsunami of December 2004 fills our minds and hearts as we begin 2005. As your new INFORMS president, I welcome the opportunity to speak with you in these columns. But it is hard to think narrowly of our profession when...

Are airlines doing their homework?(LETTERS TO THE EDITOR)(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2005... To the Editor: I recently read an article [2] in The Wall Street Journal that explained how airlines were saving money by loading extra fuel at cities with lower gas prices. The article went on to say that airlines had been practicing...

Clarification.(Correction Notice)
February 1, 2005... In an interview that appeared in the December 2004 issue of OR/MS Today, INFORMS President Dick Larson discussed the public relations side of the "Science of Better" campaign and listed, among others, a story about O.R. that appeared in the...

Does information want to be free?(INFORMS ONLINE)(advent of electronic access to journal publications )
February 1, 2005... The advent of electronic access to journal publications provides an opportunity for radical change in the economic model underlying the publishing industry. The development of electronic document distribution outlets has lowered the variable...

The washerman's dog: what is O.R.'s domain?(operations research)
February 1, 2005... The washerman's dog belongs neither at home nor at the washing place by the river. --Indian saying I really enjoyed Pete Horner's interview [1] with the new INFORMS president, Richard Larson, and Mike Rothkopf's article [2] in the...

The [begin strikethrough]traveling[end strikethrough] teaching salesperson problem.(ISSUES IN EDUCATION)
February 1, 2005... "OK, let me ask you a few questions," I often say to undergraduate and master's students who come to me for advice about what type of job they might enjoy. "First, what topics interested you the most in your courses?" "Well, I really liked...

Why some stop banging the drum.(WAS IT SOMETHING I SAID?)(Column)
February 1, 2005... "Failure's hard, but success is far more dangerous. If you're successful at the wrong thing, the mix of praise and money and opportunity can lock you in forever. It is so, so much harder to leave a good thing." --Po Bronson, 2002, "What...

Caution: bottoms-up work ahead.(VIEWPOINT)(Column)
February 1, 2005... INFORMS President Richard Larson "looks to integrate his plan to bolster INFORMS membership through non-Ph.D.s" (OR/MS Today, "The Science of Better Synergy," December 2004). With a lead-in like that, my interest was aroused immediately. Not...

To catch a tech thief: the illegal transfer of technology is a multi-billion dollar industry. Operations research could help thwart the massive problem, but in order to catch a thief, O.R. types have to think like a thief.(Cover Story)
February 1, 2005... THE INTERNATIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ESTIMATED, AND THE ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTED, that in 1998 as much as 7 percent of world trade was in counterfeit products, a market worth $350 billion [1]. In 2002, $13.08 billion was lost worldwide due to...

O.R. scores in SpORts: special issue of INFORMS Transactions on Education highlights winning examples of O.R. in the athletic arena ... and in the classroom.
February 1, 2005... A FOOTBALL TEAM SCORES A TOUCHDOWN THAT PUTS it down by one point as the game ends. Should the team kick the almost certain extra point and take its chances in overtime, or should it gamble on the much less certain two-point conversion? ...

2005 statistical software products survey: essential tools of the trade.(Software Survey)
February 1, 2005... STATISTICAL METHODS AND THINKING are a critical part of the OR/MS professional repertoire, and an appreciation of variability and uncertainty are a key part of both our training and worldview. As professionals we are often expected to provide...

Systat 11: comprehensive statistical software and great graphics.(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2005... SYSTAT IS A FULL-FEATURED, dedicated statistical analysis program. Originally written for the first-generation IBM PC (I still use the DOS version 5, circa 1991, on my handheld computer), the program has grown into a sophisticated, easy-to-use...

Spring conference to focus on mission-critical biz apps.(INFORMS NEWS)
February 1, 2005... Deploying analytic strategies in mission-critical business applications is the focus of the INFORMS conference, "Applying Science to the Art of Business," to be held April 17-19 in Palm Springs, Calif. Executives from Intel, Merrill Lynch,...

In-depth tracks on real-world analytic practice.(INFORMS NEWS)
February 1, 2005... Deployment and Implementation Issues * How Intel's internal consulting group puts O.R. into the hands of end users. * Common patterns in failed implementations. * Lessons learned at HP in operating a supply chain analytics...

Informs bestows Kimball Medal on Trippi.(INFORMS NEWS)(Institute for Operations Research and the Management Studies)(Frank T. Trippi )
February 1, 2005... Since Frank T. Trippi retired in 1983 from the Naval Facilities Engineering Command and as a colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, he has worked nearly full time as creator and chair of the INFORMS Public Awareness Committee (PAC). His goal...

Harrison wins von Neumann prize.(INFORMS NEWS)(J. Michael Harrison)
February 1, 2005... The 2004 John von Neumann Theory Prize was awarded to J. Michael Harrison for his "profound contributions to two major areas of operations research and management science: stochastic networks and mathematical finance." The prize, presented...

Schrijver wins Lanchester Prize ... again.(INFORMS NEWS)(Alexander Schrijver )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... The Lanchester Prize for 2004 was awarded to Alexander Schrijver for his book, "Combinatorial Optimization: Polyhedra and Efficiency" (Springer, 2003, Berlin: Heidelberg: New York). The Lanchester Prize is awarded for the best contribution to...

Three share inaugural Impact prize.(INFORMS NEWS)(Robert Bixby)(Janet Lowe )(Paul E. Green )
February 1, 2005... Robert Bixby, Janet Lowe and Paul E. Green were the inaugural recipients of the INFORMS Impact Prize presented at the INFORMS meeting in Denver. The Impact prize, sponsored by Princeton Consultants, will be awarded every other year for...

Nicholson Student Paper Competition.(INFORMS NEWS)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Yuval Nov of Stanford won first-place honors in the 2004 George E. Nicholson Student Paper Competition for the paper, "Modeling and Analysis of Protein Design under Resource Constraints." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The competition is held...

Glover receives special Conference Prize.(INFORMS NEWS)(Fred Glover)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Fred Glover, Comcast Chaired Professor of Systems Science at the University of Colorado, was presented a special Conference Prize "in recognition of the impact of his long list of contributions to the field of operations research" at the...

Hillier receives Expository Writing Award.(INFORMS NEWS)(Frederick S. Hillier )
February 1, 2005... Frederick S. Hillier received the 2004 INFORMS Expository Writing Award for his book, "Introduction to Operations Research," co-authored by Gerald J. Lieberman. The citation noted that if Professor Lieberman were still alive, the committee...

Erkut earns teaching prize.(INFORMS NEWS)
February 1, 2005... Erhan Erkut, holder of the Vargo Teaching Chair and a Francis Winspear Senior Fellowship in the School of Business at the University of Alberta, Canada, was presented the 2004 INFORMS Prize for the Teaching of Operations Research/Management...

Dantzig Dissertation Award.(INFORMS NEWS)(Jeffrey W. Ohlmann)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Jeffrey W. Ohlmann, who earned his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan, won the 2004 George B. Dantzig Dissertation Award. The award, named for the "Father of Linear Programming," honors the best dissertation that is innovative and relevant to...

Jack Borsting.(Achievements and awards)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Jack Borsting was named 2004-2005 Alumni Fellow by the University of Oregon's College of Arts and Sciences's and received a Career Achievement Award from the school for his contributions as an accomplished mathematician and distinguished...

Richard Steinberg.(PEOPLE)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Richard Steinberg has been promoted to reader in operations management at the University of Cambridge. (The position of reader is roughly equivalent to full professor.) In 1996, Steinberg became the first person ever to be appointed to a...

David Wu.(David Wu has been named dean of the Lehigh University's P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... David Wu, the Iacocca professor and chair of the Industrial and Systems Engineering Department at Lehigh University, has been named dean of the university's P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

Harold W. Kuhn.(Harold W. Kuhn receives an award for his classic paper, "The Hungarian Method for the Assignment Problem," .)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Harold W. Kuhn, professor emeritus of Mathematical Economics at Princeton University, was the inaugural recipient of the Harold W. Kuhn Award, a "best paper" award from the publisher and editors of Naval Research Logistics. The first award was...

Roundtable theme: risk analysis and management.(INFORMS NEWS)(Panel Discussion)
February 1, 2005... The Roundtable met in Denver and enjoyed a meeting built around the theme of "Risk Analysis and Management." The Roundtable listened to keynote speaker Dr. Sheila Widnall discuss lessons learned from the Columbia Shuttle disaster. Widnall,...

Meetings.(INFORMS NEWS)(Calendar)
February 1, 2005... INFORMS Meetings 2005 April 17-19 INFORMS Spring Conference 2005 Applying Science to the Art of Business Westin Mission Hills Resort Palm Springs, Calif. Chair: Rina Schneur, Verizon Laboratories ...

Napoleon's parable.(Operational Research analyst's services)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... The junior O.R. analyst was troubled and frustrated. "I just don't see why this model isn't tracking right," he sputtered. "I've been over the code carefully, half a dozen times. I ran some test cases that came out right. But some of the data...