Resoundingly Human
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With the 2024 INFORMS Analytics Conference in Orlando, FL, now just weeks away on April 14-16, here at INFORMS we are looking forward to welcoming more than 700 leading analytics professionals and industry experts for opportunities to connect, network, and celebrate excellence in the field. Joining me for a special behind the scenes look at one of this year’s conference sessions is keynote speaker Colonel Kristin Saling, Acting Director, Innovation Directorate, United States Army Recruiting Command, who has been introducing analytics, automation, and transformational business processes into Army human resources for years. She is an Army operations research and systems analyst with experience as an assistant professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point. She has led modernization programs at US Indo-Pacific Command, Headquarters Department of the Army, and is currently with Army Recruiting Command.
My guest today is going to help us explore the fun side of data analytics. Evan Wimpey is not only an analytics professional with Elder Research but is also a stand-up comedian! After spending years analyzing data and delivering statistical models, Evan realized that humor is often the most effective way to make dry or technical topics more accessible ... and more fun! Now in addition to his analytics day job, he performs data science comedy at conferences and events around the world, to include the upcoming 2024 INFORMS Analytics Conference, April 14-16 in Orlando, FL.
We’re in the countdown to the 2024 INFORMS Analytics Conference, in Orlando, FL, April 14-16, when more than 700 leading analytics professionals and industry experts will come together to discover new solutions to business problems, connect and network, and celebrate excellence in the field. Joining me to give a sneak peek of this year’s conference is Tom Koulopoulos, the INFORMS Roundtable-sponsored keynote speaker. Tom is an author, futurist, and leader who serves as chairman and founder of Delphi Group, a 30-year-old Boston-based think tank named one of the fastest growing private companies by Inc. Magazine, and the founding partner of Acrovantage Ventures, which invests in early-stage technology startups. He is also the author of 14 books, an inventor with several patents, an Inc.com columnist, the past Executive Director of the Babson College Center for Business Innovation, the past director of Dell Innovation Lab, and a professor at Boston University. I’m excited for the opportunity to get to know Tom, explore his own professional journey, and share an exciting sneak peek at what he’ll be presenting at the upcoming conference.
Welcome back to , the podcast brought to you by INFORMS, the leading association for professionals and students who apply science, math, technology, and analytics to make smarter decisions for a better world. I’m your host Ashley Kilgore and thank you for joining me for the next episode in a special series highlighting the 2024 Franz Edelman Award finalist teams! The Franz Edelman Award is awarded each year to an organization that has made a transformative contribution to society, all with the power of advanced analytics. In the leadup to the 2024 INFORMS Analytics Conference in sunny Orlando this April, we’ll be highlighting the incredible contributions of this year’s finalists. The winner will be announced at the conference, during the Edelman Gala. For the next episode in this year’s Edelman finalist series, I have the pleasure of speaking with the team from McDonald’s China to share some special insight into their finalist project, which accurately forecasted and delivered on record growth in the Chinese market for McDonalds.
The Franz Edelman Award is awarded each year to an organization that has made a transformative contribution to society, all with the power of advanced analytics. In the leadup to the 2024 INFORMS Analytics Conference in sunny Orlando this April, we’ll be highlighting the incredible contributions of this year’s finalists. The winner will be announced at the conference, during the Edelman Gala. To kick off this very special series, which just so happens to feature my favorite episodes throughout the entire year, I have the pleasure of speaking with the team from Tata Steel Limited to share some special insight into their finalist project.
Welcome to a brand-new year of , the podcast brought to you by INFORMS, the leading association for professionals and students who apply science, math, technology and analytics to solve the world’s most critical challenges. Basically, our member’s work informs smarter decisions to make our world a better place and the Resoundingly Human podcast is dedicated to sharing their amazing stories. I’m your host Ashley Kilgore and thank you for joining us as we kick of another great year of thought-provoking and inspiring content! Joining me for our first episode of the new year is the 2024 INFORMS President Julie Swann, the A. Doug Allison Distinguished Professor and Department Head of the Edward P. Fitts Department of Indusrial and Systems Engineering at North Carolina State University.
As 2023 draws to a close, it’s a great time to reflect on the past year with our 2023 INFORMS President Laura Albert, professor and department chair of industrial & systems engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Welcome to the latest episode in a special series of the Resoundingly Human podcast, recorded in person at the 2023 INFORMS Annual Meeting in Phoenix. For this episode I am joined by Hamsa Balakrishnan with MIT. Hamsa is delivering the keynote session, “Advanced Air Mobility: Are We There Yet?” and she is joining me today to explore this topic.
In a special episode recorded at the 2023 INFORMS Annual Meeting in Phoenix, AZ, I have the opportunity to sit down with long time INFORMS member and professor and dean with the Culverhouse College of Business at the University of Alabama, Jim Cochran. We cover a lot of ground from adventures abroad with Visiting Scholar opportunities, to combatting urban blight and human trafficking, to increasing access to dental care and food donations for those in need, but most importantly explore the power of analytics to give back and make a difference.
If you’re anything like me, a glass of wine at the end of a long day is a terrific way to relax and unwind. And whether your glass contains a deep, rich Cabernet, a crisp, floral Sancerre, or a dry, refreshing Pinot Grigio, they all share one thing in common, and that is – you guessed it – analytics! That’s right! Just like a delicious charcuterie or cheese plate, analytics also pairs great with wine! From the grape all the way to the glass, analytics play an important role in the modern production of wine. Joining me to walk us through the wonderful world of wine analytics is Burak Kazaz, professor of supply chain management, and the executive director of the Brethen Institute at Syracuse University.
It’s been a busier (and more exciting) summer than usual for INFORMS! INFORMS president Laura Albert, professor and department chair of industrial & systems engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, provides an update on the latest and greatest at INFORMS.
This episode is a continuation of our previous episode, featuring our incoming 2024 INFORMS president, Julie Swann, our current president Laura Albert, and two past presidents, Radhika Kulkarni and Ramayya Krishnan, in which we'll be discussing their recent meetings on Capitol Hill related to artificial intelligence.
INFORMS as an organization has a mission of elevating our members and our brand. As part of that goal, we work to educate policymakers about the value of operations research and analytics in decisions that they make that impact the American people. We have had great success in nurturing relationships in Washington and making a real difference. As of late, a big focus has been on artificial intelligence and some of INFORMS most prominent members are involved in the work. On this episode, I’m pleased to welcome our incoming 2024 INFORMS president, Julie Swann,, our current president Laura Albert, and two past presidents, Radhika Kulkarni and Ramayya Krishnan, to discuss their recent meetings on Capitol Hill related to artificial intelligence.
Human trafficking is a global crime, impacting an estimated 27.6 million individuals each year. And while we might think that trafficking is a problem present in distant locations far from home, the sobering fact is that it is everywhere including in our own communities. And while I think most are familiar with the existence of some of the perhaps better recognized forms of human trafficking – including sex trafficking and labor trafficking - it might surprise listeners that organ trafficking – in particular, kidney trafficking – is another significant form of human trafficking. In fact, it’s a $1.7 billion industry worldwide. Joining me to share some insight into organ trafficking, it’s prevalence and impact, and the complications in combatting it, is Naoru Koizumi with George Mason University. A specialist in in medical policies – including those relating to organ transplantation and end-stage kidney and liver diseases – Naoru is leading a team of researchers awarded NSF funding to learn more about organ trafficking and most importantly, how to combat and disrupt the associated supply chains.
With members in more than 90 countries, INFORMS truly represents a global and diverse community of OR/MS and analytics students, researchers, educators, practitioners and industry leaders. Members whose work is saving lives, saving money and solving complex problems, through ground-breaking research and transformative applications. And if you are part of this community, you know just how significant opportunities to connect, collaborate and grow your professional network are for furthering this incredible work. But for some, especially students or those just starting out in their career, or even experienced researchers who want to branch out into new areas, you might feel uncertain or even uncomfortable taking the first steps towards building professional relationships with new people. Luckily, events like the upcoming 2023 INFORMS Annual Meeting, which will bring together thousands of members of the INFORMS community from October 15-18 in Phoenix, AZ, provide myriad opportunities to meet potential collaborators and friends from around the world. Now, if you listened to the most recent episode of the podcast, you’ll already have heard me discuss this week’s guest, a professor with Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Brazil, and host of my new favorite podcast, Subject To: as well as author of the new column of the same name, Anand Subramanian. Anand and I will be discussing the importance of meeting and connecting with others in your field for idea exchange, collaboration, or even just sharing admiration for another’s work, and how to best leverage both in-person and virtual networking opportunities in order to do so.
Summer is here and the time is right … for getting the heck out of dodge! With temperatures soaring and kids off for summer break, scores of people are planning to travel at some point this summer. In fact, 85% of Americans are planning to take a trip this summer and of those more than 50% plan to travel to their destination by plane. But in their efforts to get away from it all, many might be experiencing more of a stressful scenario than they had anticipated, as airports across the country are experiencing at worst, canceled flights and at best significant delays. What’s surprising is that these disruptions are even extending to folks who are registered for TSA PreCheck. Joining me today to take a look behind the scenes at what is causing these delays and cancelations, what can be done to address them, and what would-be vacationers can do to limit the impact and stress on their vacations, is Laura Albert, professor and department chair of industrial & systems engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the 2023 INFORMS president.
It feels like in the blink of an eye, ChatGPT is everywhere. This AI-driven natural language processing tool can answer questions and help you create written content at lightning speed and is proving a valuable tool that is transforming content creation across the board. But where the heck did it come from?! How long has this technology actually been around? And while this is a fantastic tool, as with all things, is there the potential that this technology that could be leveraged negatively? Joining me from Temple University is Subodha Kumar, to share special insight on how ChatGPT came to be, how its currently being leveraged and where it is taking us!
Move over AI and supply chain, there’s a new buzzword in town! Digital twin, a term that’s been popping up more and more in mainstream media in recent months. But what is digital twin technology? Basically, it’s using data to create a digital version of a real world, physical object, process or system for a wide range of purposes. Now that’s a pretty basic explanation of what really is pretty complex technology, so today I’m joined by Michael Heiner, with Heiner Innovation Company, who will help us take a deeper dive into digital twin technology, what it is, why it has recently found itself in the spotlight, the potential for future developments and what makes him excited about the work he is doing in this space.
In honor of Pride month, this week’s episode will feature audio from a previous video interview I conducted for the INFORMS Community Showcase highlighting the newest INFORMS community, the PRIDE Forum! In this interview I’m joined by Priyank Arora, President of the INFORMS Pride Forum, and Pritha Dutta, Board Member of the INFORMS Pride Forum. We take a look inside this new forum and its role in the INFORMS membership, and its goals in the larger OR/MS and analytics community. It is truly an honor to work for an organization that not only embraces, but prioritizes diversity, equity and inclusion in its membership. I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I do!
Historically, baseball has been described as America’s national past time. However, there might be another activity better suited to this title … and that is playing video games. That’s right, video games. Over 227 million people in the U.S. play video games for at least one to a few hours per week, which equals out to about 70% of all Americans are video game fans. But what I’d bet most gamers don’t know, is the role that operations research (O.R.) plays in nearly every aspect of video game development, from design to production to selling. Joining me today to dive into the world of O.R. and video games is Xiao Lei, assistant professor with the University of Hong Kong, a self-confessed lover of video games who is also lucky enough to get to help advance the role O.R. in gaming.
The U.S. Coast Guard is the oldest continuously operating naval service of the United States and has deployed to support and fight in every major U.S. war since 1790. In this episode, we explore the role analytics plays in supporting the Coast Guard as it achieves its many missions and learn how the U.S. Coast Guard Academy is preparing the next generation of those serving in its ranks to employ analytics in new and exciting ways. Joining me for this episode are Commander Matthew Williams, head of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy’s Department of Mathematics; Ian Frommer, professor in the mathematics department; and Elise Birkhaeuser and Clayton Forfinski, who are both first-class cadets majoring in operations research and data analytics at the Academy.
With 2023 well underway, it’s time to circle back and check in with the INFORMS president Laura Albert, professor and department chair of industrial & systems engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, for an update on the latest and greatest at INFORMS.
My guest for today’s interview is Shima Mohebbi, with the Department of Systems Engineering and Operations Research at George Mason University who recently completed a collaborative National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded study that explored how to improve community and infrastructure resiliency by better understanding and identifying the underlying dynamics and causal relationships to improve responses during disruptions, with a focus on mobility and public water resources. We’ll be taking a look not only at her work, but sharing some insight on the experience of receiving (NSF) funding to support your research.
So today’s interview is going to make – heck it already has made – a lot of folks in INFORMS hometown of Baltimore jealous, because I will be speaking to none other than the Baltimore Orioles assistant GM and head of analytics Sig Mejdal. With Baltimore’s 2023 season opener literally on top of us, I am thrilled to sit down with Sig and talk about analytics at the Orioles, as well as his own professional journey to an outstanding career in sports analytics.
We’re in the countdown to the 2023 INFORMS Business Analytics Conference, in Aurora, CO, April 16-18, and this year’s conference is particularly special for the INFORMS community as this was the site of our 2020 meeting … or it was supposed to be, but unfortunately the COVID-19 pandemic had other ideas. Now, here we are three years later and we’ve come full circle and I think I speak for many in the INFORMS community when I say that I have never been more excited to attend an Analytics Conference. With that in mind, I’m thrilled to be joined by Hilary Mason, the INFORMS Roundtable sponsored keynote speaker and co-founder and CEO of Hidden Door, a game technology studio using machine learning to build the future of immersive entertainment. We’re taking this opportunity to get to know Hilary a little bit, talk about her analytics journey, and get a sneak peek at what she’ll be presenting at the upcoming conference.
We’re coming up on International Women’s Day on March 8 and here at INFORMS we’re excited to recognized and celebrate the incredible contributions of women in STEM! This year’s theme is Embrace Equity, highlighting how embracing gender equity will help create an inclusive world. Joining me to explore the growing impact of women in the STEM fields, and share her own incredible work is Lauren Czerniak, a PhD candidate with the University of Michigan. Lauren’s research focuses on developing and applying stochastic models to address current challenges in healthcare with applications in pharmaceutical drugs, glaucoma, and concussion management. In addition to her incredible work in industrial and operations engineering, Lauren as she is a tremendous advocate and mentor for other women in STEM.
Filmed in-person during the 2022 INFORMS Annual Meeting in Indianapolis last fall, in this episode I am joined by Thiago Serra, professor of analytics and operations management at Bucknell University, and Carol DeZwarte, data science leader at Shopify. We explore a topic that most in the field of analytics/OR/MS have or will face during their career, and all the questions and uncertainty that come along with it. And that is, what direction do I want my career to take, more specifically, am I interested in pursuing a career in industry or in academia? Carol and Thiago share their personal stories about their professional journeys. We discuss choices made, challenges faced, moments of uncertainty, and of course, celebrate their successes! And then at the end, Thiago and Carol answer some questions submitted by listeners.
At the time of this recording, we are well into this year’s football playoffs with the Super Bowl now just a couple of weeks away. There are four teams still in the playoffs – Bengals, Chiefs, Eagles and 49ers – with the next round coming this weekend. I invited my previous guest Walt DeGrange, director of Analytics Capabilities at CANA, to take a look at the continually evolving role of analytics in football as we continue our countdown to the Superbowl. We’ll also take a few minutes to discuss Walt’s new book, . *A note to listeners, this episode was recorded on January 26, 2023 and posted the following week.
As we live in an increasingly internet-driven world, it should come as no surprise that online or cyberbullying is a problem of growing significance and impact, one that actually seems to have worsened during the pandemic. In 2022, nearly half of all teenagers experienced some form of online bullying or harassment. But what may be less well understood is beyond the mental and emotional impact, online harassment can also pose a risk to an individual’s personal data and financial security. Joining me to help explore this topic is Lisa Yeo, a professor with the University of California MERCED. We’ll talk about the work she has been doing to combat online bullying and harassment and how this fits into the larger discussion of security and privacy.
Welcome to a brand-new year of podcasts! Whether this is your first episode, or you are a long-time listener, thank you for joining us and I hope you’ll subscribe for even more great content highlighting the incredible contributions of INFORMS members. To kick off our first episode of the new year, joining me is the 2023 INFORMS president Laura Albert, professor and department chair of industrial & systems engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
