Jacobson, Sheldon H. (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

Topics:

Homeland Security: Aviation Security Modeling and Analysis Using Operations Research
Aviation security has become a topic of intense national interest, as the risk of terrorism and of other hazardous threats to the nation's air system increase. Recent events have hastened changes to improve the security of the air traffic industry. This includes multi-million dollar investments in new security technologies and equipment. This presentation discusses a number of issues that impact the way security is currently being maintained at airports around the United States, and shows how operations research modeling and analysis can play an important role in enhancing airport security operations. (Intermediate)

Health Care: Addressing Immunization Issues Using Operations Research Models
The National Immunization Program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified several challenges that must be faced in childhood immunization programs to deliver and procure vaccines to protect against the common preventable diseases. The economic challenge is to make wise procurement choices from among a growing number of competing products. This presentation discusses how operations research methodologies can be used identify sets of vaccine that are both economical and meet the requirements of the national immunization schedule, how existing and new combination pediatric vaccines can be priced in the market place, and how risks associated with vaccine shortages can be mitigated using pediatric vaccine stockpiling.
(Intermediate)

Transportation & Health Care: The Economic Impact of Obesity on Automobile Fuel Consumption
Obesity has become a major public health problem in the United States. There are numerous health implications and risks associated with obesity. One socio-economic implication of obesity is that it reduces passenger vehicle fuel economy (i.e., the miles per gallon achieved by automobiles, which include cars and light trucks driven for noncommercial purposes). This presentation quantifies amount of annual fuel consumption by noncommercial passenger automobiles that can be attributed to additional weight in the U.S. population due to overweight and obesity. The results indicate that between 0.734 and 1.104 billion gallons (1 gallon = 3.785 liters) of gasoline consumed each year by noncommercial passenger travel in automobiles in the U.S. can be attributed to overweight and obesity, accounting for 0.5-0.8% of the gasoline consumed by passenger vehicles in 2005. Alternatively, as much as 1.137 billion gallons of gasoline consumed each year in the U.S. can be attributed to average weight gain in the U.S. population since 1960. Moreover, over 39 million gallons of fuel are estimated to be used annually for each additional pound of average passenger weight. These results describe another facet of the impact of overweight and obesity on the U.S. economy.
(Intermediate)

Fuel Saving and Ridesharing in the US: Motivations, Limitations, and Opportunities
The high cost of gasoline in the US has made automobile fuel consumption a significant issue in energy security and the national economy. Ridesharing can reduce the fuel consumed in noncommercial passenger highway vehicles by grouping individuals into fewer vehicles and reducing the number of miles that vehicles must travel. This presentation estimates the potential fuel savings that could result from an increase in ridesharing. If no additional travel is required to pick up passengers, adding one additional passenger for every one hundred vehicles would reduce annual fuel consumption by an estimated 0.80 to 0.82 billion gallons of gasoline per year; if one passenger were added in every ten vehicles, the potential savings would be 7.54 to 7.74 billion gallons per year, or 5.4% of the fuel consumed by these vehicles annually. However, ridesharing may require extra travel to pick up additional passengers, which can reduce and possibly eliminate potential fuel savings. The tradeoff between saving fuel and spending time to pick up additional passengers is investigated, finding that, on average, ridesharing may not be attractive to travelers, but can be made more attractive by increasing per-vehicle-trip costs such as parking and tolls. (Intermediate)

The Keys to Success
The transition from being a graduate student to a faculty member can appear quite ominous. This presentation, directed at graduate students considering an academic career, highlights the key milestones and issues that make for a successful academic career. (Elementary)

Background:

• B.Sc. McGill University
• M.Sc. McGill University
• Ph.D. Cornell University

Sheldon H. Jacobson is a Professor and Director of the Simulation and Optimization Laboratory in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Illinois. He has a B.Sc. and M.Sc. (both in Mathematics) from McGill University, and a M.S. and Ph.D. (both in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering) from Cornell University. His theoretical research interests include the analysis and design of heuristics for intractable discrete optimization problems. His applied research interests address problems in the manufacturing, aviation security, and health-care industries. In 1998, he received the Application Award from the Institute of Industrial Engineers Operations Research Division. In 2002, he was named an Associate in the Center for Advanced Study at the University of Illinois, and was awarded the Aviation Security Research Award by Aviation Security International, the International Air Transport Association, and the Airports Council International. In 2003, he received the Best Paper Award in IIE Transactions Focused Issue on Operations Engineering and was named a Guggenheim Fellow by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. In 2009, he received the IIE Outstanding Publication Award. His research has been published in a wide spectrum of journals, and he has received research funding from several government agencies and industrial partners, including the National Science Foundation and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.