Resoundingly Human

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 OR/MS Today 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 of 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, Field Guide to Compelling Analytics. *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 Resoundingly Human 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.

As we near the end of the year, I'm once again joined by our 2022 INFORMS president Radhika Kulkarni to take a look back at the past year, her favorite moments and memories, what insight she gained, what she'll take with her, and finally, any special insight she might have for our incoming 2023 president.

This week's podcast is an incredible example of the power of O.R. and analytics to unite and empower people and communities across the globe, and I'm excited and honored to share this story with you! I'm joined by Andrew Wylie, a simulation consultant at Simul8 Corporation which develops simulation software to provide unique, evidence-based approaches to decision making, and William Taylor, head of operations at Shout-It-Now, which uses innovative approaches to provide South African communities with free sexual and reproductive health services. We'll be discussing the unique partnership between these two organizations, which is leveraging O.R. and analytics to make a lasting impact and help save lives.

Welcome back for another in a special series of the Resoundingly Human podcast, filmed and recorded in person in Indianapolis at the 2022 INFORMS Annual Meeting. I'm joined by Brian MacDonald at Yale University. He is a keynote presenter at this year's Annual Meeting, Sports Analytics, and he has kindly taken some time out of his busy meeting schedule to share special insight into, well, all things sports analytics!

Special series featuring in-person interviews from #INFORMS2022 in Indianapolis! I was delighted to be joined in person in Indianapolis at the 2022 INFORMS Annual Meeting by Prashant Yadav with INSEAD. He was a keynote presenter at this year's Annual Meeting, Global Health Security and Healthcare Supply Chains: Perspectives and Opportunities for Operations Research, and he kindly took some time out of his busy meeting schedule to sit down with me and explore the topic of his presentation.

With just days to go before the INFORMS community gathers in Indianapolis for the 2022 INFORMS Annual Meeting, the first fully IN PERSON Annual Meeting since 2019, I am delighted to be joined once again by the 2022 INFORMS President Radhika Kulkarni. We'll take a look at this year's meeting, what's new and different this year and what we've missed about meeting face-to-face, as well as a quick update on INFORMS as we enter the latter half of her year as president.

Semiconductors. Everyone uses them, but how many of us really know what they are, what they do, and the increasingly important role they play in our modern world? Much like supply chains, artificial intelligence and other O.R. buzzwords that are making their way into the public conscious, semiconductor is a term that most of us have probably heard, but their actual significance might remain a bit of a mystery. And perhaps even less well known are the challenges associated with their manufacturing, especially with the ongoing issues relating to supply chains, and alarmingly, the risk this could pose to national security. In this episode I'm joined by Zachary Collier, professor with Radford University and a visiting scholar at the Center for Hardware and Embedded Systems Security and Trust (CHEST), to take a deep dive into all things semiconductor and tackle some of these questions and growing concerns.

It's the end of a long day, or maybe the start to a fun weekend … you lean back in your chair, hammock, front porch step, wherever, and crack open your favorite brew. Life. Is. Good. But have you ever thought why your favorite beer IS your favorite? Nowadays, chances are (especially if you are a millennial) you're drinking the product of one of nearly 10,000 craft breweries here in the U.S. and NOT one of the large traditional beer companies that have been such a significant part of the history of brewing in America (Budweiser Clydesdales, anyone?). And why are the beers that are popular today are so different from those our parents and grandparents enjoyed in previous decades? Today I'm excited to dive into the takeoff of craft beer brands with Bart Bronnenberg, a professor with the Tilburg School of Economics and Management at Tilburg University in the Netherlands. His study "Millennials and the Takeoff of Craft Brands: Preference Formation in the U.S. Beer Industry" looks at the rise of craft brands, particularly beer, in the U.S. and their impact on the market.

Operations research, analytics and data science can provide a wide range of solutions to many of the challenges facing organizations, from staffing to resource allotment to evaluating success and failure, if you have a business problem, O.R. and analytics can provide an effective, data-based solution. But making sure you are picking the correct solution, the right approach for your unique problem, is just as important. Sure, having AI or machine learning-based solutions might sound super cool, but how do you know it's actually the right answer to your problem? And when organizations are investing thousands if not more in these solutions, a lot is riding on the choice you make. We'll be exploring the answers to these questions and more, with a particular focus on data-centric vs. decision-centric analytics and solutions, with Karen O'Brien. Karen O'Brien is an analytics leader and a 20-year public servant, having served in diverse analytics and leadership roles within the Department of the Army as a member of the Army Civilian Corps. Her applied operations research experience ranges from ballistics to logistics and she has built advanced data analytics capabilities in multiple organizations. By training, her undergraduate work was in physics and chemistry, and she leverages her MS in Predictive Analytics from Northwestern University to bridge the worlds of big data analytics and classic operations research.

Today's episode will be a little different than most, we're going to take a bit of a detour but stick with me and I promise, I'll bring us back around to data science. I'm going to take us back in time a little, back to the first time I watched what was to become my favorite movie, Jaws. It was the summer between 4th and 5th grade (probably way too young to be watching a movie about a killer shark) and I was at a sleepover where the next day, after being thoroughly terrified by this movie, we went to the beach where, wait for it, a shark had washed up on shore! Needless to say, I spent much of the rest of that summer playing in the dunes, BUT, it cemented in me an absolute fascination and, let's be honest, fear of sharks. So fast forward a couple of decades to this summer, I'm on my morning run through the Pennsylvania woods, far from any beach, and listening to my newest podcast obsession, "Réunion: Shark Attacks in Paradise," which is about a series of unprecedented shark attacks on the French island of Réunion. All of a sudden, I hear the host mention "the totally fascinating academic journal Management Science." That's right, the INFORMS journal Management Science! He's referring to an article by UC Berkeley professor Charles West Churchman titled "Wicked Problems" and proceeds to lay out the shark attacks on Reunion as a wicked problem! I literally stop dead in my track, I'm texting my coworkers, "The coolest thing ever just happened!" and of course, I keep bingeing the podcast. So needless to say, I am beyond excited to welcome Daniel Duane, award winning journalist and author, and host of my new favorite podcast, to talk about what exactly data science has to do with a series of shark attacks on a small island in the Indian Ocean.

We're just about halfway through the summer, and with many days of warm weather still ahead, most of us are planning fun outdoor activities or family adventures, or maybe just working toward our summertime fitness goals. But for some, ok many of us, staying active can be a struggle, not only to reach our fitness goals, but to stick to our good exercise habits in the long run. The use of wearable heath devices, such as a Fitbit can serve as a valuable tool not just for tracking progress, but of setting goals and helping motivate users to meet them. However, new research shows that there are ways to enhance the effectiveness of these tools, for even longer-term benefits through a process called gain-loss incentives. I'm pleased to introduce Idris Adjerid from Virginia Tech to discuss the findings of his study, "Gain-Loss Incentives and Physical Activity: The Role of Choice and Wearable Health Tools," which will be published in the INFORMS journal Management Science.

There is not a single country in the world that is not touched by human trafficking. Let that sink in. The number of people victimized by human slavery across the globe is currently greater than the populations of London, New York and Los Angeles combined. This is not a problem affecting people on the other side of the world, it's one here at home, very likely in our own communities. One that will require collaboration and diverse and innovative approaches to combat. Joining me today is Renata Konrad, professor of industrial engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, who is using her background and experience to explore the role that engineering can play in combatting the complex and growing challenges involved in combatting human trafficking.

It's no secret that women are making great strides forward in the workplace. In major cities across the country, analysis shows that the gender pay gap is closing. The number of women in mathematics, science and other STEM occupations is continuing to grow as well. In addition, the number of women entrepreneurs has increased by 48% year over year. That means the number of women taking the jump to start their own businesses each year is growing in leaps and bounds! However, it's also no secret that there are still hurdles to cross, many more milestones to reach, and unfortunately, continued negative assumptions to overcome. In today's episode, we'll be exploring new research in the INFORMS journal Organization Science has revealed that when a female investor supports a female entrepreneur, it can negatively affect the business owner's ability to obtain further investments. Joining me to discuss her study, "Does Investor Gender Matter for the Success of Female Entrepreneurs? Gender Homophily and the Stigma of Incompetence in Entrepreneurial Finance" is Kaisa Snellman of INSEAD. We'll discuss her findings, what insights or awareness we can gain from this new data, and ultimately, how we can enact positive change so we don't take steps backward in the upward trajectory of professional women.

As the host of this podcast, I am in a unique position to hear first-hand from people who are having an incredible impact on the world in such an amazing variety of ways, which in my role, I then have the pleasure of sharing with our listeners. While each episode of the podcast communicates an important discovery or significant impact, it's seemed like a number of recent episodes, at least in my eyes and ears, have captured stories of the impact of O.R. and analytics that regardless of whether you have a background in these fields, are pretty inspiring. From reducing poaching to help revitalize populations of wild tigers, to helping teach AI to think more like we do, to helping craft better policies to protect and better serve some of our most vulnerable dialysis patients, to interviews featuring the 2022 Franz Edelman Award finalist teams, these episodes have shared stories of brining together skilled people from a variety of fields, organizations and backgrounds to collaborate on addressing significant problems across the globe. And I'm excited to share that today's episode, is no exception. Joining me is Ayan Mukhopadhyay, a research scientist with Vanderbilt University and one of the recipients of the 2021 Google AI for Social Good Impact Scholar Award. Ayan is involved in a number of projects that are having a significant positive impact on the world around us, but today we'll be talking in particular about his work with HelpMum, a non-profit organization based in Nigeria dedicated to improving the lives of African mothers and children.

Common sense. A highly valued trait among our peers, partners, friends, and honestly anyone we interact with on a regular basis. Difficult to define at best, common sense is a necessary component to decision-making, helping us navigate any number of choices we must make day to day, to presumably achieve the best outcomes. And while common sense is an inherently human trait, much like our emotions, as applications of artificial intelligence in our daily lives continue to grow, from customer service interface to smart home technology, can common sense be introduced to this technology to improve their decision-making capability? Or will technology's inability to incorporate common sense place a hard stop on the role that AI will ultimately play? Joining me to take a closer look at the challenges of introducing common sense into AI decision-making is Mayank Kejriwal with the University of Southern California, who is leading a research team exploring this very topic.

For this episode, I am so pleased to once again be joined by the 2022 INFORMS President Radhika Kulkarni. We started 2022 off with my first interview with Radhika as president and discussed what was in store for INFORMS in the coming year. Radhika joins me once again to share some important INFORMS milestones and updates on a few of the topics we discussed earlier this year.

Wildlife conservation is an enormous global undertaking, vital to ensuring the health and longevity of our planet, and that the incredibly diverse plant and wildlife species we share our world with are here for generations more to come. A significant threat to conservation efforts is the poaching of wildlife, which can be difficult and even dangerous to combat and is pushing many species towards extinction, while also helping to support a multi-billion-dollar illegal wildlife trade. I'm pleased to introduce my guest for today's podcast, Lily Xu with Harvard University, whose work to create a data driven approach to combat poaching in protected areas around the world led to the development of PAWS, the Protection Assistant for Wildlife Security. Perhaps most exciting is the hope that, with the help of PAWS, not only can we reduce the impact of poachers but ultimately reintroduce populations of wild tigers back into areas where they once thrived. I'm also thrilled to share that Lily's work was awarded the INFORMS Doing Good with Good O.R. prize – which recognizes outstanding student projects with a significant societal impact – and I'm excited for the opportunity to speak with her about it.

End-stage renal disease, or ESRD, is a serious medical condition caused by failure of the kidneys that also has significant social and economic implications. The only treatments for end-stage renal disease are regular courses of dialysis or a kidney transplant. For individuals with ESRD who do not have access to treatment, either because they are uninsured or they may not be a legal residents of the U.S., often their only option is to resort to going to the emergency room in order to receive dialysis. However, mandatory hospital and even county protocols structured to prevent emergency room congestion can result in an individual seeking dialysis treatment being sent home if their medical status is not deemed life-threatening at that time. Unfortunately, these policies for the most part are ineffective at preventing ER congestion and also have the potential to negatively impact these patients' health by delaying treatment. So is there a way to strike a balance between alleviating already strained emergency room resources while still providing life-saving care to vulnerable patients with very limited options? Joining me to discuss their research on this very topic are Sila Çetinkaya with Southern Methodist University and Olga Bountali with the University of Toronto.

This podcast is part of a special series featuring the 2022 finalist teams for the INFORMS Franz Edelman Award for Achievement in Advanced Analytics, Operations Research and Management Science, the most prestigious award for achievement in the practice of O.R. and advanced analytics. For more than four decades, the Edelman Award has recognized contributions that are transforming how we approach some of the world's most complex problems. Finalists for the Edelman Award have contributed to a cumulative impact of more than $336 billion since the award's inception, as well as countless other nonmonetary benefits. The winner of this year's award will be announced at the 2022 INFORMS Business Analytics Conference, April 3-5. Joining me for this episode are Dimitris Bertsimas, professor with the MIT Sloan School of Management and Najat Khan, Chief Data Science Officer and Global Head, Research and Development Strategy & Operations with Janssen Research and Development, LLC, to discuss the finalist entry from the team at Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson and Johnson (Janssen). To accelerate the development of the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, the Research and Development Data Science team at Janssen worked with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to co-develop and refine a machine learning-based COVID-19 epidemiological disease spread model, building on MIT's DELPHI scenario analysis tool, capable of predicting future COVID-19 infection spread months in advance at a global level. This model enabled Johnson and Johnson to expedite a highly accurate clinical trial for the first single-dose COVID-19 vaccine, as well as gain valuable insight on virus variants.

This podcast is part of a special series featuring the 2022 finalist teams for the INFORMS Franz Edelman Award for Achievement in Advanced Analytics, Operations Research and Management Science, the most prestigious award for achievement in the practice of O.R. and advanced analytics. For more than four decades, the Edelman Award has recognized contributions that are transforming how we approach some of the world's most complex problems. Finalists for the Edelman Award have contributed to a cumulative impact of more than $336 billion since the award's inception, as well as countless other nonmonetary benefits. The winner of this year's award will be announced at the 2022 INFORMS Business Analytics Conference, April 3-5. Joining me for this episode are Peiling Wu-Smith, Research Manager and Technical Fellow, and Kathryn Schumacher, Staff Researcher, both with the Advanced Analytics Center of Expertise in Chief Data & Analytics Office, to discuss the finalist entry from the team at General Motors. General Motors (GM) is on a journey toward helping to create a world with zero emissions, zero crashes and zero congestion. Decisions on new product content, packaging and pricing are central to this goal and the GM customer experience. Vehicle Content Optimization (VCO) helps GM make these decisions while offering a full-line portfolio of vehicles that meet the vast diversity of customer needs and preferences. Developed entirely within GM, VCO combines advanced consumer market research, discrete choice models and novel optimization algorithms into a user-friendly, fully productionized system which has had a significant impact on GM's Global Vehicle Development process.

This podcast is part of a special series featuring the 2022 finalist teams for the INFORMS Franz Edelman Award for Achievement in Advanced Analytics, Operations Research and Management Science, the most prestigious award for achievement in the practice of O.R. and advanced analytics. For more than four decades, the Edelman Award has recognized contributions that are transforming how we approach some of the world's most complex problems. Finalists for the Edelman Award have contributed to a cumulative impact of more than $336 billion since the award's inception, as well as countless other nonmonetary benefits. The winner of this year's award will be announced at the 2022 INFORMS Business Analytics Conference, April 3-5. Joining me for this episode are Vicki McIntire, Assistant Regional Director for the Denver Regional Office, and Tammy Adams, Senior Advisor for IT and Operations, to discuss the finalist entry from the team representing the U.S. Census Bureau. The U.S. Census Bureau conducts the Decennial Census every 10 years as mandated in the U.S. Constitution. Prior to the 2020 Census, this was done with manual assignments. In 2020, optimization and machine learning techniques automated the scheduling, workload assignments and management of field data collection. MOJO, an operational control system based on these techniques, provided optimization of caseloads handled by enumerators through a geographic information system. The 2020 Census resolved 99.9% of all addresses in the nation and MOJO, via assignment optimization, provided a productivity increase of over 80%. The system was developed in collaboration with Princeton Consultants as well as others in the private sector and academia.

This podcast is part of a special series featuring the 2022 finalist teams for the INFORMS Franz Edelman Award for Achievement in Advanced Analytics, Operations Research and Management Science, the most prestigious award for achievement in the practice of O.R. and advanced analytics. For more than four decades, the Edelman Award has recognized contributions that are transforming how we approach some of the world's most complex problems. Finalists for the Edelman Award have contributed to a cumulative impact of more than $336 billion since the award's inception, as well as countless other nonmonetary benefits. The winner of this year's award will be announced at the 2022 INFORMS Business Analytics Conference, April 3-5. Joining me for this episode are Andrés Couve, the Chilean Minister of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation, Leonardo Basso, Professor with the Universidad de Chile in the Civil Engineering Department and Director of the Complex Engineering Systems Institute, to discuss the finalist entry from the team representing the country of Chile. During the COVID-19 crisis, the Chilean Ministries of Health and Sciences partnered with the Complex Engineering Systems Institute and telecom company Entel to develop innovative methodologies and tools that placed operations research and analytics at the forefront of the battle against the pandemic. These innovations have been used in key decisions that helped shape the strategy against the virus, including tools that shed light on the actual effects of lockdowns in different municipalities and over time; helped allocate limited intensive care capacity; allowed multiplying the testing capacity; provided on-the-ground strategies for the active search of asymptomatic cases based on anonymized mobility data; and implemented a nationwide serology surveillance program that greatly influenced Chile's decision regarding booster doses and provided valuable insight to the rest of the world.

This podcast is part of a special series featuring the 2022 finalist teams for the INFORMS Franz Edelman Award for Achievement in Advanced Analytics, Operations Research, and Management Science, the most prestigious award for achievement in the practice of O.R. and advanced analytics. For more than four decades, the Edelman Award has recognized contributions that are transforming how we approach some of the world's most complex problems. Finalists for the Edelman Award have contributed to a cumulative impact of more than $336 billion since the award's inception, as well as countless other nonmonetary benefits. The winner of this year's award will be announced at 2022 INFORMS Business Analytics Conference, April 3-5. Joining me for this episode are Xinhui Zhang, Senior Director, Head of Supply Chain Management and Operations Research Committee, and Yuming Deng, Director, Digital Supply Chain, to discuss their team, Alibaba's, finalist entry. Alibaba, which aims to build the future infrastructure of commerce, has designed many multiplatform retail business models. These range from mobile apps to brick-and-mortars and more. Merchandise on Alibaba's platforms covers general supplies to fresh produce. Each of these different channels and their products brings unique features regarding demand forecast and inventory management. These challenges are being solved through a series of algorithms to align supply with demand, which in turn has had a significant impact on the business.

This podcast is part of a special series featuring the 2022 finalist teams for the INFORMS Franz Edelman Award for Achievement in Advanced Analytics, Operations Research and Management Science, the most prestigious award for achievement in the practice of O.R. and advanced analytics. For more than four decades, the Edelman Award has recognized contributions that are transforming how we approach some of the world's most complex problems. Finalists for the Edelman Award have contributed to a cumulative impact of more than $336 billion since the award's inception, as well as countless other nonmonetary benefits. The winner of this year's award will be announced at the 2022 INFORMS Business Analytics Conference, April 3-5. Joining me for this episode are PK Yegneswaran, Vice President of Manufacturing Science and Technology, and Oscar Repping, Executive Director Biotech Solutions, to discuss the finalist entry from the team at Merck Animal Health. Merck Animal Health offers veterinarians, farmers, pet owners and governments one of the widest ranges of veterinary pharmaceuticals, vaccines and health management solutions. After four years of collaboration where vision met opportunity, a portfolio of optimization and decision support applications were implemented that substantially improved biomanufacturing effectiveness. Biomanufacturing uses living organisms (i.e., viruses and bacteria) to grow active ingredients in vaccines and therapeuticals. This high-tech manufacturing process generates challenges not found in many other industries. Additionally, the high cost of equipment and labor-intensive nature of operations precluded the ability to just add capacity. Operations research played a critical role in helping Merck Animal Health increase the output of critical medicines in specific areas.

For nearly 3 weeks during the summer of 2018, the attention of millions across the globe was focused on northern Thailand where a massive effort was underway to locate and rescue 12 members of a boys' soccer team and their coach who were trapped underground in the rapidly flooding Tham Luang cave. Among those watching was Yael Grushka-Cockayne with the University of Virginia's Darden School of Management. As she watched this incredible rescue effort unfold, she recognized it as a massive and complex study in risk management and decision-making, one in which the highest stakes were involved. Today I'm thrilled to be joined by Yael to take a look back at this event and share the insight gained from her own case study of a rescue that, had different decisions been made at key points along the way, could have had a very different outcome.

Plastic pollution is a complex and growing global issue, with millions of tons of plastic waste reaching our oceans each year, killing thousands of seabirds, turtles, seals and other marine mammals. However new research has identified an approach to removing, recycling and reutilizing plastic that not only has a positive impact on the environment, but can also benefit communities in need in developing countries. Joining me to discuss how supply chain and block chain technology are being leveraged in innovative new ways to address the issue of plastic pollution is Opher Baron with the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management.

Cardiovascular disease, a term for a number of disorders of the heart and blood vessels, is a serious and steadily growing threat to global health, causing even more deaths every year than cancer. In the U.S. alone, nearly 660,000 people, or 1 in 4, die of heart disease annually. In particular, cardiovascular disease can lead to cardiac arrest, a serious condition in which the heart suddenly stops beating. One of the most effective methods of treatment for cardiac arrest is an automated external defibrillator, which can not only correct an episode of arrhythmia, or irregular heartbeat, but can restore the heart's beating if it suddenly stops. As with any medical emergency, time plays a critical factor and this is particularly true when someone is experiencing cardia arrest. Even a minute delay in defibrillation can leading to a 10% decrease in survival. My guest today, Tim Chan with the University of Toronto, is conducting incredible research exploring how drone technology can minimize delays in defibrillation for individuals in crisis, potentially even faster than traditional EMS can respond.

Even with the COVID-19 vaccine readily available throughout much of the country, and the age ranges of those who can receive it expanding, research shows that in the face of a new wave or variant of the coronavirus, the tools that we used at the onset of the pandemic, masking and social distancing, are still key to helping mitigate the spread of the virus. Joining me to share his research to help develop a model for social distancing policies to prevent surges in new cases and hospitalizations is Dave Morton with Northwestern University.

When you take a look back, even just over the past couple of years, the devastation caused by the seemingly growing threat of large-scale wildfires has made headlines around the world. From the unprecedented brushfires in Australia in 2019-2020, to California's record setting wildfire season later that same year, and most recently the Colorado prairie grass fires which occurred well outside of the traditional fire season, the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfire incidents are a growing global concern. Not only are these fires capable of causing billions of dollars in damage each year, but contribute to the deaths of thousands of people, not to mention have a devastating impact on local wildlife and ecosystems. But are there steps that can be taken to better prepare and position first responders and others involved in combatting and minimizing the physical and financial impact of these fires? Joining me to discuss his work using stochastic optimization to support better decisions regarding resource deployment both in the stages before a fire occurs as well as when multiple fires are underway is Lewis Ntaimo with Texas A&M University.