Informs Today: The Podcast Series

Where is the intersection between IT and analytics? MIT's Michael Schrage says the two may very well meet in the simple experiments that companies can do via social media and in the retail store. Schrage, who speaks at the 2010 INFORMS Practice Meeting, previews his provocative talk for CIOs and executives in this vibrant podcast. Register for the practice meeting to hear Schrage and analytics experts from top companies at http://meetings.informs.org/Practice2010.

When the reservoir for America's largest city, environmentalists, and local residents clash, can the interests of all be resolved? The Delaware River Basin Commission, was able to redress the needs of all these groups, as well as the four states sitting on the commission. In the process, the commission and its partners earned a nomination as a finalist in the 2010 Franz Edelman Competition. Learn how operations research was the key from lead researcher Peter Kolesar of Columbia University.

What are the dangers of flying in the wake of the Christmas bomber? What's the danger of runway collisions in airports like Los Angeles International? How significant are differences in safety record between airlines in First World and developing countries? Should we beware smaller, regional carriers, as a PBS Frontline program suggested? MIT's Arnold Barnett, an operations researcher and expert in air safety, explains his research in this important broadcast. (And watch for publication of his study later this year in Transportation Science.)

Are you looking for a consultant who's an expert in business analytics and operations research? Hear Brian Lewis of Vanguard Software walk you through the steps of determining your needs, picking a consultant, and collaborating in this do-it-yourselfer for business people hiring O.R. providers.

Businesses are increasingly turning to O.R. consultants and vendors to improve performance and make important decisions. But before the work begins, everyone needs to think through the plan, clean up the data, and find the right tools for the job. Listen to SAS's Mary Grace Crissey as she reviews today's O.R./business collaborations and advises everyone what to expect.

Learn where traditional advertising and word-of-mouth diverge, how marketing scientists are exploring the surprising way that everyday conversation makes business grow.

As the Haitian earthquake tragedy unfolds, the challenge of using the very best humanitarian logistics – supply chain management principles for emergencies and disasters – becomes crucial for those speeding relief to victims. The Center for Health and Humanitarian Logistics explain how their team models the way rescuers can rapidly deploy to nations that face natural and manmade calamities.

How can you survey data more carefully so your candidate will win a tight election? Doug Samuelson of Infologix talks about using operations research to help at the polls, how 2009's Congressional and gubernatorial elections signal 2010's races, and what the Keys to the White House suggest about the 2012 presidential election. Bonus: Hear Doug explain his homeland security research on escaping from an attack in a public place.

How can we make life and death decisions? How should business approach costly endeavors? What helps teenagers avoid mistakes that could derail the rest of their lives? Stanford Professor Ronald A. Howard was present at the creation of decision theory and decision analysis. Hear the decision guru explain how to scientifically approach the important decisions in our work and lives. Read his full-length interview in the current issue of Decision Analysis.

Few scientists today doubt the seriousness of climate change and the dangers of global warming. Yet political leaders and the public have still not made the reduction of greenhouse gases and pollutants a priority. Hear MIT Professor John Sterman explain how math modelers empower decisionmakers and voters alike to examine the data and its implications, using the tools found at www.ClimateInteractive.org.

Whether we take a trip on the highway or the virtual superhighway that we call the Internet, we are all caught up in a network – hopefully not one that's crumbling. Hear Prof. Professor Anna Nagurney, Director of the Virtual Center for Supernetworks at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and author of "Fragile Networks" Fragile Networks, discuss what's going right in our networks of highways, broadband networks, and financial networks – and why the work ahead is critical.

Ever seen the cartoon of the statistician who waded in a river whose average depth was three feet and drowned when it dipped to six feet? Averages only tell you so much, and Professor Sam L. Savage of Stanford University has made a cause of his career warning against simplistic mathematical assumptions. The author of "The Flaw of Averages: Why We Underestimate the Face of Uncertainty" offers his perspective in this segment.

Fans of baseball and other sports have been fascinated with data and statistics for decades. In recent years, though, numbers crunchers beginning with Bill James have been delving deeper to settle sports arguments, help teams plan, and tell municipal planners if there's any money for their cities in building large sports stadiums. Hear Jim Cochran, an expert in sports and analytics, tell you what the numbers reveal in major league baseball, NCAA basketball and football, the NBA, and more.

A bolt of understanding zapped the business world first in 2006, when Tom Davenport co-authored a Harvard Business Review article about competing on analytics and then in 2007, when Harvard Business Press published “Competing on Analytics: The New Science of Winning,” the book he co-wrote with Jeanne G. Harris. Since then, the two works have gone onto bestseller status. Prof. Davenport has been named one of the world’s top three analysts of business and technology – listen to his thoughts about operations research, analytics, and his column in the current issue of Analytics in this special podcast.

Epidemiologists are not the only group working to prevent the outbreak of Swine Flu, or H1N1 Virus, in the northern hemisphere this fall. Experts in analytics and operations research have a special role. Hear operations researcher Sheldon Jacobson discuss his work making sure that vaccines and antidotes reach people speedily at this time of danger. Prof. Jacobson also discusses his work helping children receive combination vaccines that can prevent them from contracting dangerous diseases.

Wake County, North Carolina’s public schools aren’t facing the problems of decay found in some dying metropolitan areas; their problem is growth. The Wake County school body is 140,000 strong, attending 160 schools, and growing by 3,000-6,000 children a year. How does a growing school system reassign children from one school to another without angering parents? How does it comply with state and county mandates? And how can the school system demonstrate to voters that their decisions are fair? Hear how the Wake County Public School System collaborated with operations researchers at SAS to develop an equitable, easy-to-use solution that is improving by the day.

When Lawrence Wein, an expert in bioterror and former Editor-in-Chief of Operations Research, prepared to publish an important paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science on preventing contamination of America’s milk supply, the Bush Administration tried to block it. Now Prof. Wein’s recommendations on preventing attacks using botulism and anthrax, as well as recommendations about securing U.S. borders, are U.S. policy – as well as the subject of opinion pieces in The New York Times and other trusted editorial pages. Hear a special interview with Prof. Wein, who delivered the 2008 INFORMS Philip McCord Lecture, on homeland security and staying one step ahead of the next terrorist strike.

Analytics and operations research play a crucial role in bringing better healthcare to the poorest sections of the world – that’s an important lesson taught by The Clinton Foundation, an NGO that is making important strides in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa. Hear Justin Cohen of CSHOR, the foundation’s Center for Strategic HIV Operations Research, as he explains how measuring and analyzing bring a surprising boost to the fight against a stubborn challenge.

All the world’s a supply chain, says Prof. Mohan Sodhi, and the answers to the vexing questions about the Great Recession lie in an understanding of how today’s economy connects to the supply chain model. Building on his tour-de-force article in the Financial Times, Prof. Sodhi takes a sobering look at the world’s economic problems and some simple ways to keep companies from the brink.

Did you ever watch the way that patients, nurses, and doctors flow through the fast-moving doors of an emergency room? If you didn’t, you’re in good company – neither have most hospital administrators. Prof. Carter, an expert in the American and Canadian healthcare systems, explains the hidden costs in the North American healthcare and the ways that quantitative experts are modeling current hospital systems to shape future healthcare during the Obama Era.