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Healthcare

Franz Edelman Award

How airlines are still flying high during the pandemic

The COVID-19 impact on airlines has been profound, with more than a 50% decrease in the volume of air passengers over the past year. Last year, in the early days of the pandemic, I shared an episode featuring Arnie Barnett with MIT in which we discussed how by leaving the middle seats on airplanes open, and only filling windows and aisles, the chance of contracting the coronavirus during a flight could be significantly reduced. Now, joining me for this episode to discuss additional ways airlines have pivoted and adapted to the challenges of the pandemic is Laurie Garrow. Laurie is…

Tags: airlines, COVID-19, Laurie Garrow

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Shining a light on the COVID-19 vaccine distribution

After a year dominated by the many challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2021 dawned with an optimistic look ahead, as we witnessed the start of the rollout of a coronavirus vaccine. But as we are still in the earliest stages of this effort, there are still challenges ahead and a great deal of uncertainty. Joining me to shine some light on this is Anna Nagurney, the John F. Smith Memorial Professor in the Department of Operations and Information Management in the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is also the Founding Director of the Virtual…

Tags: Anna Nagurney, COVID-19, pandemic, supply chains, vaccine

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Looking ahead to a year of new possibilities

Welcome to a brand-new year of Resoundingly Human podcasts! Joining me for the first podcast of the new year is the 2021 INFORMS President Stephen Graves. A long-time member of INFORMS, Steve is the Abraham J. Siegel Professor of Management and a professor of operations management at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. He also has a joint appointment with the MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Tags: advocacy, DEI, MIT, Stephen Graves, strategic planning

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Santa and O.R.: A holiday tradition

A Holiday Flashback! For our final episode of 2020, we invite you to revisit a very special holiday interview, originally recorded in 2018 and featuring a very well-known guest, Santa Claus himself. I hope you enjoy our fun and festive conversation as Santa and I discuss how he uses operations research to solve many of the problems associated with managing a team of elves, keeping track of the naughty and nice list and most importantly, delivering presents all across the globe on Christmas Eve. Thank you for tuning into the Resoundingly Human podcast over the past year, and we’ll be back with…

Tags: Christmas, Holiday, Santa Claus, Traveling salesman problem

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A year of exciting milestones and unique challenges

Nearly a year ago, I interviewed the 2020 INFORMS President Pinar Keskinocak as she stepped into her new leadership role with INFORMS, to discuss her goals and objectives for the year ahead. Then, well … 2020 happened, complete with a global pandemic, social distancing, a transition to remote working and learning, and so many other challenges. As we prepare to (thankfully) say goodbye to 2020, Pinar joins me again to take a look back over the past year and its many challenges, but also, some incredible milestones for INFORMS. In addition, we’ll look ahead to 2021 and how the work…

Tags: COVID-19, milestones, pandemic, Pinar Keskinocak, year in review

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Special interview with Jorge Cham, PHD Comics

During the Virtual 2020 INFORMS Annual Meeting held in early November, I had the unique pleasure of interviewing Jorge Cham, scholar and comic, and special guest at the INFORMS Awards Ceremony. I am excited to share this interview with you during this special episode of the podcast, as Jorge and I discuss his comic series, Piled Higher and Deeper, and other creative endeavors; his transition from academia to the creative arts (and what his parents thought); important lessons learned; and the relationship between procrastination and productivity. And learn more about accessing valuable meeting content for three months following the meeting.

Tags: Annual Meeting, comic series, Piled Higher and Deeper Comicsprocrastination

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How consumer ‘word of mouth’ impacts advertising dollars

Every day, we are exposed to advertising material for every product and service imaginable. Whether on social media, tv, radio, print and more, billions of dollars are spent on advertising each year, all to influence whether or not we make a purchase. Also impacting our decision-making process are recommendations or alternatively criticisms, of these same products and services from family and friends. But how much of an influence can these word of mouth interactions have, and ultimately, how does it impact advertising dollars? Joining me to discuss this topic is Yogesh Joshi, a professor at the University of Maryland, whose…

Tags: advertising dollars, University of Maryland, word of mouth advertising, Yogesh Joshi

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Transitioning from the military? INFORMS has the resources to help

Operations research, or at the time operational research, traces its origins back to WWII when it was first used to refer to the scientific research done by the Royal Air Force to integrate new radar technologies into their tactics. By 1941, the term had expanded to encompass research done to assist military officers in developing tactics and planning combat operations. Since then, applications of O.R. can be found in nearly every industry across the globe. Today, O.R. continues to play a vital role in our modern military, impacting strategy, logistics, personnel management and so much more. In today’s episode I…

Tags: ACE, active duty transition, MAS, military, Shaun Doheney CAP

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Robots on the job: What’s the real impact for their human counterparts?

As more organizations adopt automation, and for the purposes of this episode, robotics, into their day-to-day functions, questions remain regarding the impact. Are robots replacing their human counterparts or enhancing their work? Or is the answer more complex? And what are the economic implications? Joining me to provide some insight on the actual impact is Lynn Wu, professor at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. We’ll be discussing her study, “The Robot Revolution: Managerial and Employment Consequences for Firms,” which will be published in the INFORMS journal Management Science.

Tags: employment, Lynn Wu, robots automation, University of Pennsylvania

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