Omega Rho Distinguished Lecturer
Laura Albert of University of Wisconsin- Madison
Societally important problems have driven the theory and application of operations research since its origins in World War II. Recent events have highlighted the enormous number of challenges that require expertise from operations research and analytics. The operations research community has a long history of stepping up to address challenging problems in the public sector through modeling, computation, and data analytics that has influenced policy and impacted practice. This has been a central theme of my academic career, which has focused on security, emergency response, public safety, and risk management. This talk discusses several research problems, focusing on how operations research has made a difference, and offers a blueprint for how the operations research community can tackle future challenges, impact society, and broadcast our message to the world.
Presented at the 2021 INFORMS Annual Meeting on Monday, October 25, 2021.