Author: Ashley Kilgore

What is … an interview with Sam Buttrey, winner of Jeopardy! Tournament of Professors!

Good Luck in the FINALS of the 2022 Tournament of Champions, Dr. Buttrey!! In this week’s episode I’m thrilled to be joined by a very special guest, Sam Buttrey, an associate professor of operations research at the Naval Postgraduate School and winner of the first-ever Jeopardy! Tournament of Professors. Sam competed against professors from across the country and in a variety of disciplines to win not only the $100,000 grand prize, but an opportunity to further compete in the 2022 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions.

Tags: Jeopardy, operations research, Sam Buttrey, statistician, Tournament of Champions, Tournament of Professors

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Approaching 2022 with an optimistic (and excited!) eye to the future

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 for even more great content highlighting the incredible contributions of INFORMS members. To kick off the first episode of the new year, joining me is the 2022 INFORMS President Radhika Kulkarni, a member of the analytics industry for 35+ years, most recently as the VP of Advanced Analytics R&D at SAS.

Tags: 2022, advocacy, AI, artificial intelligence, COVID-19, INFORMS president, pandemic, Radhkia Kulkarni, Strategic Plan

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Let’s see how far we’ve come! A look back over a year of great content

What a year this has been! To start, I want to thank everyone who has tuned into the podcast this year, and whether this is the first episode you’re listening to or the 50th, your support of the podcast has helped us share the incredible work of INFORMS members and the many ways their contributions are saving lives, saving money and solving problems. In fact, I’m thrilled to share that in 2021 we didn’t just reach a major milestone, but blew it out of the water, when we surpassed 50,000 unique downloads of our episodes well ahead of our…

Tags: 2021, end of year message, host

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Overcoming obstacles to achieve objectives and (finally) returning to normal

Since I first met with the 2021 INFORMS president Stephen Graves at the beginning of the year, INFORMS has achieved several significant milestones despite the continued challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, to include the launching of a new strategic plan and a return to in-person meetings with the INFORMS Annual Meeting in Anaheim, CA earlier this fall. Now as 2021 draws to a close, Steve joins me for his final interview as president for a look back over the past year and all that INFORMS has accomplished.

Tags: 2021 Annual Meeting, DEI, INFORMS president, Stephen Graves, Strategic Plan

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Shield-Net: Helping pop-up supply chains answer the call for more PPE during the pandemic

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, access to personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks and shields was significantly impacted to the point that healthcare workers were forced to reuse their PPE. In fact, a survey found that 87 percent of hospital nurses in the U.S. reported reusing at least one type of single-use PPE, placing them at greater risk of contracting the virus. In response to this global shortage, many manufactures who had not previously developed PPE supplies pivoted their operations to help meet the demand. However, as these organizations were not previously established providers, it was still…

Tags: COVID-19, manufacturing, nurses, pandemic, pop-up supply chain, ppe

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Legalizing cannabis: Do licensed stores increase consumption?

The U.S. has a complicated history with cannabis. Designated an illegal substance for decades, in recent years we’ve witnessed a greater understanding of its medicinal potential with a growing number of states legalizing it for that purpose, as well as for recreational use. However, federally it remains classified as an illegal “Schedule 1 drug” under the Controlled Substances Act. I guess it’s still pretty complicated. Last year however, a bill passed in the House of Representatives that would have legalized the use of cannabis federally (but died in the Senate). In addition, more senators and representatives on both sides of…

Tags: Canada, cannabis, legalization, weed

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COVID-19 and breast cancer: The impact of interruptions to preventative care

During the earliest stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, it seemed the world had ground to a halt as efforts were made across the globe to slow the spread of the virus, including stay at home orders, and in many areas the closing of nonessential businesses and services. Unfortunately, this impacted many non-emergency medical procedures and appointments, including screenings, scans, tests and other measures deemed elective. But what are the long-term implications of this gap in preventive medicine, a gap extended for many by an avoidance of medical facilities as potential sites of infection for the virus until the vaccine became…

Tags: breast cancer, COVID-19, healthcare, mammograms, pandemic, preventative care

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Flying high with analytics: Helping the Air Force address its pilot shortage

The fascinating history of operations research can trace some of its earliest applications back to the military during World War II. Since then, its role has continued to grow and evolve, and today it is still a vital tool in helping our modern military address some of its most complex challenges, from logistics, to equipment, to personnel, and more. In this episode, I am joined by Phil Jenkins with the Air Force Institute of Technology to discuss a new study, “An Air Force Pilot Training Recommendation System using Advanced Analytical Methods,” that is slated for publication in the INFORMS Journal on…

Tags: Air Force, pilot shortage, pilot training, pilots

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An update on INFORMS: Continued progress on important initiatives

In this episode, I am pleased to once again be joined by our 2021 INFORMS president Steve Graves. As we enter the latter half of the year, we’ll take a look at the current status of INFORMS, the continued progress of the goals outlined in the new Strategic Plan unveiled at the beginning of the year, and the upcoming 2021 INFORMS Annual Meeting, featuring a flexible format for both in-person and virtual attendees.

Tags: advocacy, AI, artificial intelligence, DEI, diversity, equity, inclusion, INFORMS, INFORMS president, MIT, Stephen Graves

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A sneak peek of the 2021 INFORMS Annual Meeting

For today’s episode, we’ll be doing something a little different. Recently I was joined at INFORMS headquarters by Brad Weaber, our wonderfully dynamic and engaging host for the upcoming 2021 INFORMS Annual Meeting. This year’s meeting features a flexible format, with the opportunity to participate in-person in Anaheim, CA, as well as a fully virtual meeting platform that can be accessed from anywhere in the world.A self-described cruise director on land, Brad will be helping bridge the gap between in-person and virtual attendees, igniting conversations and sparking lasting connections, as well as helping to highlight the many unique features of the…

Tags: 2021 Annual Meeting, Anaheim, Brad Weaber, flexible, in-person, meeting host, virtual

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