OR/MS Today articles from October 2003

OR/MS Today archives from October 2003

Virtual, viable, valuable.(Inside Story)(Editorial)
October 1, 2003... Virtual "futures markets" may not be virtuous judging from the recent public and political outcry over the Pentagon's proposal to create a "market" for terrorism scenarios, but are they viable and valuable, particularly to those in the business...

The branding dilemma.(President's Desk)(Column)
October 1, 2003... In my first president's column, I said that unlocking the latent demand fur our solutions is the most critical and highly levered task that we as a society and a discipline can undertake. Consequently, I made the marketing of our profession the...

Are software patents harmful?(INFORMS Online)(Column)
October 1, 2003... Patents are granted to provide inventors with a limited monopoly on technologies they develop in exchange for disclosure. The expectation is that the disclosures will spur the advancement of technology. While there is not even universal...

What the Internet has not done.(Cyberspace)(Column)
October 1, 2003... "Frontiers will disappear, nations will be brothers, civilization will progress..." Thus the physicist in Prus' 1890 novel, "The Doll;' explains the benefits of steerable hot-air balloons. We have heard similar sentiment about the Internet. On...

Spreadsheet modeling is a strategic opportunity.(Issues In Education)(Column)
October 1, 2003... This is the fourth in an occasional series aimed at making management science the best course in the business school. When teaching OR/MS to business students, there is a tendency to skip over the "easy stuff" in our rush to get to "the...

Welcome back to the future.(Was It Something I Said)
October 1, 2003... "Welcome back / Your dreams were your ticket out. Welcome back / To that same old place that you laughed about Well, the names have all changed since you hung around But those dreams have remained and they're turned around." John...

The horse trainer's parable.(Oracle)
October 1, 2003... "I'm glad we waited until fall to take this vacation," the OR/MS analyst said. The crisp fall day was perfect for his kids' first horseback ride. Birds sang and a light breeze ruffled their hair as the group, including the analyst, his wife,...

NSF funds wealth of innovative ideas.(Real World)(National Science Foundation )
October 1, 2003... Protecting individual privacy in a networked world, getting the right information at the right time for emergency response, and designing secure and reliable network architectures for bringing high-speed networking to millions of homes are the...

Erhan Erkut, a professor in the Department of Finance and Management Science, was named the inaugural recipient of the Vargo University of Alberta Distinguished Teaching Chair.(Real People)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Erhan Erkut, a professor in the Department of Finance and Management Science, was named the inaugural recipient of the Vargo University of Alberta Distinguished Teaching Chair. The professorship is designed to honor excellence and passion in...

How many graduate students can you name who received their bachelor's degree in management science and information systems AND led their school's football team in tackles?(Real People)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... How many graduate students can you name who received their bachelor's degree in management science and information systems AND led their school's football team in tackles? Gino Capone, a senior middle linebacker at Penn State, was selected to...

No rest for weary IT staffers.(Real World)(Information Technology)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Don't be surprised to see your company's technical support staff carrying industrial-sized coffee mugs. In a recent survey, 55 percent of chief information officers (CIOs) said the number of projects in their information technology department...

Reach way out and touch someone.(Real World)
October 1, 2003... Engineers in the Virtual Reality Laboratory at the University at Buffalo have developed a new technology that transmits the sensation of touch over the Internet. The breakthrough could lead to creation of haptic technologies that convey...

Taking stock of virtual markets: despite the recent uproar over the Pentagon's plan for a futures market on terror attacks, Internet-based virtual stock markets show promise in predicting business success, the outcome of sporting events and yes, perhaps even coup d'etats.(Futures Market)
October 1, 2003... "Pentagon Prepares a Futures Market on Terror Attacks" blared the headline in the New York Times above an article on the Pentagon's "policy analysis market" (PAM) project. The Pentagon intended to employ a "virtual stock market"--for the...

Sounds like an OR problem: looking for a job? Forget networking and resume polishing. In order to find a good job in today's tight market, you need a more efficient search process.(Operations Research)
October 1, 2003... OPERATION RESEARCH PROFESSIONAL HAVE solved a variety of important technical and business problems over the past 50-plus years, and we in the field take great pride in those accomplishments. Sometimes, however, we miss opportunities to solve...

Teacher orientation: a cost-effective proposal to prepare new faculty for effective MBA teaching.(Orienting Instructors)
October 1, 2003... THE REQUIREMENTS FOR A SUCCESSFUL ACADEMIC career are similar across the universe of universities. The importance of effective teaching has received much attention in recent years. A good classroom experience for both the students and the...

Can operations research light up the power industry? The massive blackout that crippled North America points out the need to modernize the electrical power grid. A team from Bruce Power near Toronto seeks to optimize power generation and distribution maintenance by capturing the expertise of veteran experts before it's too late.('Power' of OR)
October 1, 2003... AT 4:09 P.M. ON A HOT, HUMID DAY IN AUGUST, more than 50 million people suddenly found themselves hurled back in time during the largest and most expensive blackout in North American history. The blackout cascaded across the Northeast from...

GAUSS Mathematical and Statistical System 5.0: workhorse programming language proves a valuable tool for financial, econometric and statistical professionals and students, as well as operations researchers.(Product/Service Evaluation)
October 1, 2003... Product Summary SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS GAUSS 5.0 is available for a number of platforms namely Windows, Linux and various flavors of Unix including Solarix, AIX and HP UX. It has recently been made available as a 64-bit application on...

Impact Explorer[TM] audience response system for opinion gathering.(Literature Files 2003)
October 1, 2003... Impact Explorer[TM] uses a wireless keypad system to gather the opinions of a group about important issues. Impact Explorer' allows up to 250 people to vote on and rank ideas and suggestions and to apply matrix assessment (such as probability...

Distribution fitting software.(Literature Files 2003)
October 1, 2003... Stat::Fit[R] statistically fits your data to the most useful analytical distribution. Version 2 includes 11 additional distributions and enhanced graphics capabilities. The Auto::Fit function automatically fits continuous and discrete...

Inventory control (for people who really have to do it) volume II in the useful management series.(Literature Files 2003)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... A cookbook of quick and dirty methods for solving problems in real-world inventory control--this book begins by taking on the most used (wrongly) method in the inventory world--the economic order quantity. Inwentory Control... is available in...

Logical Decisions[R] for Windows[TM].(Literature Files 2003)
October 1, 2003... Logical Decisions[R] for Windows[TM], Version 5.1 helps you evaluate choices requiring critical preference and value judgements. LDW lets you combine qualitative and qualitative concerns in a single model. LDW also lets you simultaneously...

CSIM 19 is now available!(Literature Files 2003)
October 1, 2003... Need to build models of highly complex systems? CSIM, the world's preferred low-cost simulation tool just got even better. Using the popular C and C++ languages, this advanced simulation toolkit enables you to create process oriented, discrete...

Count on Arena for enterprise-wide simulation.(Literature Files 2003)
October 1, 2003... Arena[R] simulation software offers the unparalleled ease of use, flexibility, and domain expertise required for modeling any aspect of a business enterprise. The Arena product family supports both in depth analyses of a particular functional...

Historic lecture.(INFORMS News)(Judith S. Liebman will deliver the Omega Rho Distinguished Lecture at the Atlanta INFORMS)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Judith S. Liebman will deliver the Omega Rho Distinguished Lecture at the Atlanta INFORMS meeting Oct. 19. She will speak on the topic of "Teaching for Learning: Past, Present and Future." She will discuss instructional approaches particularly...

Practice conference: applying science to art of business.(INFORMS News)
October 1, 2003... "Applying Science to the Art of Business" is the theme of the 2004 INFORMS conference on ORMS practice, scheduled for April 25-27, 2004 at the Hyatt Regency in Cambridge, Mass. The 2004 conference will be held in conjunction with the 50th...

Operations research in the news.(INFORMS News)
October 1, 2003... With INFORMS launching its major new initiative to market our profession at the annual meeting in Atlanta, the society continues turning to the media to publicize the contributions of operations researchers. Recent articles in the press...

Informs case and teaching materials.(INFORMS News)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... The mission of INFORMS Case and Teaching Materials is to support the creation, dissemination and use of high-quality teaching materials for instructors of operations research and the management sciences. We are currently accepting...

Guide to exhibitors: INFORMS Annual Meeting 2003 Atlanta.(INFORMS News)
October 1, 2003... The INFORMS Annual Meeting 2003 will be held at Westin Peachtree Plaza, Atlanta, Georgia, Oct. 19-22. Following is a list of companies and organizations that will be exhibiting at the meeting. All attendees are encouraged to visit the exhibit...

INFORMS Atlanta meeting 2003 plenary & keynote presentations.(INFORMS News)
October 1, 2003... Sunday, Oct.19 PLENARY 11:40a.m.-12:30p.m. "Adventures in Policy Modeling Operations Research in the Community and Beyond" Edward H. Kaplan--William N. and Mane A. Beach Professor of Management Sciences, Yale School of...

Call for entries: Franz Edelman Award.(INFORMS News)
October 1, 2003... INFORMS and CPMS, the Practice Section of INFORMS, are pleased to announce the 33rd International Competition for the Franz Edelman Award for Achievement in Operations Research and the Management Sciences. The 2004 competition will occur as a...

In memoriam: John Raymond Hall 1912-2003.(INFORMS News)(Obituary)
October 1, 2003... John Raymond Hall of Fall River, Mass., died Aug. 4. He had been in declining health for some time and had resided since 2001 at the Adams House Nursing Home. John Raymond Hall was born in Fall River on June 6, 1912. In 1934, he graduated...

Meetings.(INFORMS News)
October 1, 2003... INFORMS Meetings 2004 April 25-27 INFORMS Conference on OR/MS Practice Applying Science to the Art of Business Hyatt Regency Cambridge, Mass. Chair: Grace Lin IBM Business Consulting Services www.informs.org/Conf/Practice04/ May...

WSC 03: Driving Innovation.(INFORMS News)(The Winter Simulation Conference (WSC) 2003 will be held Dec. 7-10 in New Orleans at the Grand Fairmont Hotel)
October 1, 2003... The Winter Simulation Conference (WSC) 2003 will be held Dec. 7-10 in New Orleans at the Grand Fairmont Hotel. We have chosen the theme "Driving Innovation" to signify the role of simulation in changing and improving our companies' and clients'...

Frontline launches premium solver platform and new solver engine.(Industry Update)
October 1, 2003... Frontline Systems, Inc., developer of the Solver in all three major spreadsheets, announced Version 5.5 of the Premium Solver Platform, its "flagship" spreadsheet optimization product for Microsoft Excel. The Platform Version 5.5 includes...

Logical decisions tool finds best portfolio of projects.(Industry Update)(Logical Decisions Portfolio )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Logical Decisions announced a new tool for selecting portfolios of alternatives. The software, called Logical Decisions Portfolio, version 1.0, lets users find the set of projects with the most overall benefit while meeting budgetary and other...

OptTek, incontrol release E.D. OptQuest.(Industry Update)(OptTek Systems Inc.,)(Incontrol Enterprise Dynamics)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... OptTek Systems, Inc., and Incontrol Enterprise Dynamics, a simulation solutions provider headquartered in The Netherlands, announced the release of an optimization software module called E.D. OptQuest. E.D. OptQuest enhances the...

Not quite the last word.(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2003... To the Editor: In "The Last Word" ["The Supremes Rock Quantitative Methods," OR/MS Today, August 2003], Cary Shaw bemoans the Supreme Court's lack of appreciation for the use of quantitative aids to ensure racial diversity (but no other...

Puns & roses.(Letters To The Editor)(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2003... To the Editor: Today I glanced at the August issue of OR/MS Today in nay boss's office. The cover was the same as mine, but the title was different: "Weapons of Mass Instruction." Mine says "Weapons of Mass Destruction." No! My mind had...