Profiles in OR/MS: Leslie-Ann Asmus

Questions & Answers

Q. How did you arrive at your current job with Chesapeake Decision Sciences?

A. I met the company founder, Dr. Tom Baker, in 1993 at a mathematical modeling conference in Budapest. At the time, I was teaching at Brunel University in London. When I decided to return to the States a year later, Tom approached me at an INFORMS meeting and we started talking about the kinds of clients and O.R. applications that Chesapeake works with. I asked a few friends who were familiar with Tom and the company, and decided it sounded like an interesting path.

Q. How large is Chesapeake Decision Sciences?

A. In June 1998, Aspen Technology, Inc acquired Chesapeake, so it is now a wholly owned subsidiary of AspenTech. AspenTech employs over 1,500 with offices in 22 countries, worldwide. At the Chesapeake Supply Chain Division that is headquartered in New Providence, New Jersey, there are more than 90 employees.

Q. What are the main products and services it provides?

A. AspenTech provides software and services for the design and automation of process manufacturing plants. The Chesapeake division adds supply chain optimization and advanced planning and scheduling software to the portfolio of AspenTech offerings. Together, the solutions enable our clients to design, operate and manage their individual manufacturing facilities to their true potential, while ensuring that each plant is operated within the scope of total supply chain management and optimization.

Q. What are your main job responsibilities at Chesapeake Decision Sciences?

A. My title of Supply Chain Project Manager translates to being involved in everything from pre-sales technical support to industry template development to project management and support.

Q. What are some of the OR/MS problems that you have worked on while employed at Chesapeake Decision Sciences?

A. Since my education and prior experience focused on Linear and Integer Programming, a majority of my project contributions have involved these technologies. The problems are typically variations or extensions of many textbook O.R. problems. They include but are not limited to, 0-1 location problems (where to build or acquire or open new sites/contracts for capabilities vs. where to close or sell or discontinue contracts), and capacitated, global distribution planning over multiple periods and sites. Additionally, we also often use mathematical programming to identify for a plant or manufacturing area, a long-term view of what product to make on each specific production line or capacity unit. Since the Aspen MIMI software is an integrated solution for solving Supply Chain problems, our projects often involve feeding planning results directly into a more detailed planning model or into the MIMI finite scheduling module. In the latter arena, MIMI offers a Gantt chart representation of a shop floor schedule generated using a variety of scheduling algorithms.

Q. Prior to your employment at Chesapeake Decision Sciences, what are some of the past OR/MS projects that you found especially memorable and rewarding?

A. Between NYU and George Mason, I worked with the Air Traffic Control Communications group of the MITRE Corporation. As planes travel around the country, they move from one region to another. In each region, there is a long haul ATC center that tracks the movement and logistics of planes. When planes fly into a new region, there is a flow of information between two centers as the controllers "handoff" the planes.

Q. What were the main tools and OR/MS techniques that were used on these projects?

A. We developed a simulation model to design a robust communications network to connect these centers.

Q. What are the most valuable technical skills that you believe are needed to be successful in the OR/MS industry?

A. Understanding of computer science and programming (while you may or may not be in a position that requires direct programming, the nature of solving O.R. problems involves data handling, GUI development, etc.)

Intuitive understanding of what and how O.R. technologies work (it’s not necessary to know exactly how CPLEX implemented LP Barrier as much as the general approach and what types of problems it works best on).

Q. What are some of the most valuable non-technical skills that you believe are needed to be successful in the OR/MS industry?

A. Ability to ask for help and/or clarification when you don’t understand something;

Written and verbal ability to communicate ideas to people who have a variety of technical and non-technical backgrounds and interests;

Ability to break away from seeking the mathematically, textbook optimal solution when a very good, practical solution will more than meet the business needs;

Ability to recognize when and when not to include a business practice in the model. It is not necessary to get every detail reflected by an OR/MS model.

A sense of humor and lots of patience.

Q. In what ways do you continue to expand your knowledge of new technologies and techniques in OR/MS?

A. Periodically take courses at local colleges or universities. Attend INFORMS and other OR/MS conferences. Read OR/MS journals.

Q. What do you find most rewarding about your career in OR/MS?

A. The variety of interesting problems and people you meet. Since joining Chesapeake in 1994, I have worked on applications in the food & beverage, petrochemical, paper, automotive and with particular focus in the last three years, six clients in the semiconductor and silicon wafer manufacturing industries.

Q. What advice do you have for those just starting out in a career in OR/MS?

A. Listen first, talk second. Understand that being fresh out of school and knowledge of the latest OR/MS developments lands you in the rookie class. Welcome to the wild world of woolly data problems, company politics, and a spectrum of people who talk a lot about very little, others who talk little but know a lot and everything in between. There is something to learn from everyone you talk with.

Find a mentor. Although a lot of companies don’t have established programs, most people will be flattered by your asking. This will help your transition and development.

Q. What do you predict the future has in store for the field of OR/MS and for OR/MS practitioners?

A. At least 5-10 years of growing interest and development.