Resoundingly Human

At the heart of operations research, analytics, data science, and all the related fields, is the desire to improve the world around us, transforming data and information into insight and action, from simple business operations decisions to contributions that improve the quality of life, and even save lives, in communities across the globe. 

And within this podcast, we strive to acknowledge and highlight the incredible contributions of INFORMS members, and their passion for tackling the most significant and complex problems facing our world today.

Joining me for this episode to discuss his work in combatting an unfortunately pervasive issue throughout U.S. history, violence directed at minority populations categorized as hate crimes, is Matthew Matlack.

Matthew, a technology sales professional based in Tulsa, OK, recently shared his insight at the Virtual 2021 INFORMS Business Analytics Conference, with his presentation, “Combatting Prejudice and Discrimination: Regression Modeling and Analysis for Hate Crimes,” and his work will again be featured in the June 2021 issue of OR/MS Today magazine, in an article titled “Educating a Bias Society: Using Hate Crime Data to Inform and Define Future Policy in the U.S.”

In addition to exploring the important insight gained and the opportunities for impact identified by his work, in this episode we’ll be discussing an upcoming event in Matthew’s hometown of Tulsa that commemorates the 100-year anniversary a tragic incident in the history of hate crimes in the U.S. that has fueled Matthew’s passion for his work.

When the first rideshare companies launched more than a decade ago, it completely transformed our options for traveling from place to place. Gone were the days of hailing a cab from the side of the street, now your ride home, to work, or anywhere you need to go is just the click of a mobile app away.

But does that mean that more traditional methods of transportation, like buses, trains and cabs, have become a thing of the past? How are they successfully coexisting in the same space, with popular rideshares like Uber and Lyft, and is there even a way for them to become mutually beneficial to each other? And ultimately, what role do consumers, their preferences and choices, play in all of this?

To help uncover the answers to these questions, I am pleased to introduce Vikrant Vaze of Dartmouth College to share his insight on this topic. His study, “Transit Planning Optimization under Ride-hailing Competition and Traffic Congestion,” will be published in the INFORMS journal Transportation Science.

If you’re anything like me, in the past year video streaming services have taken on a far greater significance than prior to the pandemic. Consumers are devouring everything Netflix, Hulu, Discovery+, Disney+, and more have to offer to help cope with spending so much time at home.

But what happens if access to these services is restricted, whether by cost or other reasons? Especially as more options become available, each with its own subscription fee? At what point does piracy become the better option?

To help me explore this topic, I am pleased to introduce Shijie Lu with the University of Houston, whose study, “The Effect of Over-the-Top Media Services on Piracy Search: Evidence from a Natural Experiment,” will be published in the INFORMS journal Marketing Science.

Operations research, analytics, data science, and other related disciplines enable individuals and organizations to transform data into insights that facilitate better, more informed decision-making in order to save lives, save money, and solve problems.

And in no place is informed decision-making more important than at the highest levels within the U.S. government, where every day policymakers are making decisions and shaping policy that will impact our day-to-day lives.

But how can we ensure that the individuals making these important decisions have the tools or awareness they need? By connecting them with resources and people who are knowledgeable about O.R. and analytics.

Over the past several years, the INFORMS advocacy program has focused on elevating the work and expertise of INFORMS members and, positioning them as subject matter experts in the national media and the policy ecosystem surrounding the federal government in Washington, DC.

As part of this ongoing effort, INFORMS collaborates with other professional associations and societies to extend its reach and impact. This includes the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), whose Science & Technology Policy Fellowships, known as the STPF program, provide opportunities to outstanding scientists and engineers to learn first-hand about policymaking while contributing their knowledge and analytical skills to the federal policymaking process.

For this episode I am pleased to welcome two fellows in the STPF program, Rachel Levy, a Science and Engineering Fellow in the Senate sponsored by the American Mathematical Society, and Regina Pope-Ford, a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the National Science Foundation in the Engineering Directorate's Engineering Education and Centers Division.

The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented global event that for more than a year now has completed transformed nearly every aspect of our day-to-day lives.

For most of us, the pandemic is unlike anything we’ve ever experienced, with comparisons frequently made to the Spanish Influenza outbreak more than a century ago.

But in certain parts of the world, the potential danger presented by the coronavirus was identified and responded too far earlier than in others. And it wasn’t only government officials and decision-makers sharing these realizations, but average people, like you and me.

My guest for today’s episode is Hong Ru, professor with Nanyang Technological University.  Along with his fellow study authors, Hong identified a shared experience that enabled certain countries to recognize and respond to the significant danger of the coronavirus threat earlier than others.

This study, “Combatting the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of the SARS Imprint,” which will be published later this year in the INFORMS journal Management Science, investigates how previous experience with the 2003 SARS outbreak led to a quicker response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

From the moment the earliest cases of the coronavirus were detected in the U.S., the ability to test for and track infection rates and cases has been one of the most significant tools in combatting the virus, and played an essential role in developing guidelines and policies to reduce its spread. And today, testing paired with increasing access to vaccines, continues to play an important role in our gradual reopening and return to normal.

To take a look back over the types of testing, their levels of accuracy, how they developed and their impact, I am pleased to welcome my guests for today’s episode, Kimon Drakopoulos and Ramandeep Randhawa, both professors with the department of data sciences and operations, Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. We will be discussing their study, “Why Perfect Tests May Not be Worth Waiting for: Information as a Commodity,” which took place during the pandemic and will be published in the INFORMS journal Management Science.

The past year has posed many unprecedented and unique challenges, forcing people around the world to redefine and reimagine how we live, work, learn, teach, shop and more. It tested the resiliency of the global economy, the fundamentals of business, and countless other parts of modern life that we all took for granted. 

Many of these challenges brought to the forefront an often invisible resource that powers virtually every aspect of modern life – global supply chains. Now, the U.S. government, many businesses and industries, and numerous others, are undertaking extensive efforts to examine supply chains to ensure they can better withstand the intense pressures and strains of massive challenges such as COVID-19.

Joining me for this episode is David Simchi-Levi, a professor of civil and environmental engineering in MIT’s department of civil and environmental engineering and the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society, and director of the MIT Data Science Lab.

For more than four decades, winners of the Edelman Award have been recognized for transforming how we approach some of the world’s most complex problems. This year’s finalists are no exception, with revolutionary contributions in robotics, cancer radiotherapy efficiency, unmanned warehouse technology, mining efficiency and the impact to chemical facilities, scheduling and production at manufacturing plants, and food assistance amid emergency responses. Since its inception, finalists for the Edelman Award have contributed to a cumulative impact of over $302 billion, supported lifesaving efforts across the globe, and transformed how the world does business.

Joining me for this episode to discuss Memorial Sloan Kettering’s finalist entry for the 2021 Franz Edelman Award are Dr. Joseph Deasy, the chair of the department of medical physics at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Masoud Zarepisheh, lead developer of the project we’ll be discussing, and Linda Hong, clinical medical physics lead of this project.

For more than four decades, winners of the Edelman Award have been recognized for transforming how we approach some of the world’s most complex problems. This year’s finalists are no exception, with revolutionary contributions in robotics, cancer radiotherapy efficiency, unmanned warehouse technology, mining efficiency and the impact to chemical facilities, scheduling and production at manufacturing plants, and food assistance amid emergency responses. Since its inception, finalists for the Edelman Award have contributed to a cumulative impact of over $302 billion, supported lifesaving efforts across the globe, and transformed how the world does business.

Joining me for this episode are Xinhui Zhang, Alibaba’s senior director, head of supply chain management and operations research committee, and Haoyuan Hu, Alibaba’s head of the AI department, Cainiao Network, to discuss their team's finalist entry for the 2021 Franz Edelman Award.

For more than four decades, winners of the Edelman Award have been recognized for transforming how we approach some of the world’s most complex problems. This year’s finalists are no exception, with revolutionary contributions in robotics, cancer radiotherapy efficiency, unmanned warehouse technology, mining efficiency and the impact to chemical facilities, scheduling and production at manufacturing plants, and food assistance amid emergency responses. Since its inception, finalists for the Edelman Award have contributed to a cumulative impact of over $302 billion, supported lifesaving efforts across the globe, and transformed how the world does business.

Joining me for this episode are Dr. Yong Rui, senior vice president and chief technology officer of Lenovo, and Dr. Wei Fan, director of the machine learning team with Lenovo Research, to discuss their team’s finalist entry for the 2021 competition.