INFORM-ED Newsletter

 

 

 

 

October, 2005

 

Keeping members of the OR/MS community informed of innovation in education

 

President's Corner

James Cochran

 

Hello fellow INFORM-ED Members,

 

I hope all of you have enjoyed a pleasant and fruitful summer and are preparing for a productive academic year. INFORM-ED continues to make great progress on various initiatives and activities during this academic year. A short summary of some of these efforts follows:

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT THE 2005 INFORMS CONFERENCE

The devastation in New Orleans (and the entire gulf shore area) is almost beyond comprehension. While our thoughts are with those who are truly suffering through this catastrophe, we must also attend to our business. The conditions in New Orleans have necessitated that INFORMS relocate the conference to San Francisco. The 2005 INFORMS Annual Meeting WILL be held on November 13-16. Please check the conference web site (http://www.informs.org/Conf/NOSF2005/) for more details.

UPCOMING ACTIVITIES

Our forum continues to be very busy organizing various activities designed to improve ORMS education and assist ORMS educators. Upcoming activities include:

 

-   the 6th annual Case Competition

 

-   the 7th annual Teaching Effectiveness Colloquium

 

-   an extensive sponsored education track for the 2005 INFORMS Conference in New Orleans (November 13 - 16)

 

More details about these and other INFORM-ED activities are provided in the STATUS REPORTS OF ONGOING EDUCATION INITIATIVES below.

OTHER ACTIVITIES OF INTEREST TO INFORM-ED MEMBERS

Our officers are helping to coordinate many other activities that should be of interest to INFORM-ED members. These activities include:

 

-   Erhan Erkut (Editor-in-Chief) invites you to visit the INFORMS Transactions on Education website (http://ite.pubs.informs.org/) and read a variety of provocative new articles on ORMS education. Erhan also encourages you to submit your article that relates to any aspect of OR/MS education.

 

-   Dave Goldsman and Ken Chelst are again planning to Chair an INFORMS Teachers Program: How to Teach the Teachers session at the annual INFORMS Conference in November. This session, co-sponsored by INFORM-ED and INFORMS' Public Awareness Committee, will provide you with everything you need to "Teach the Teachers" at a local or state math teacher conference near your home. Members of the PAC team that developed the INFORMS materials (available at http://www.hsor.org) will demonstrate how to conduct these workshops at this comprehensive briefing. As a session participant, you will receive the program materials, videos, software packages (with instructions), and Teacher Instructional Modules you need to deliver a program at a state, county, or school district conference. Read their report later in this newsletter for more information.

 

-   The OR/MS Tomorrow staff is pleased to announced that the summer/fall issue of OR/MS Tomorrow, the INFORMS student online newsletter, is now available on the OR/MS Tomorrow website (http://ormstomorrow.informs.org). This issue features:

  • A highlight on the University of Texas at Austin INFORMS student chapter
  • A spotlight on the INFORMS Decision Analysis Society
  • An article on Collaborative Logistics in the Sea Cargo Industry
  • A list of Award/Scholarship Opportunities for Students
  • An updated list of upcoming conferences and calls for papers

This is an excellent resource for ORMS students and educators!

-   The 2005 INFORMS Conference in New Orleans is approaching fast (November 13-16). The Organizing Committee has worked hard to assemble an exiting and provocative program built around the theme Ecologies, Economies, and O.R. See the conference website (http://www.informs.org/Conf/NO2005/) for more details.

 

-   Jenny Wagner, VP Meetings for SPRIG (Spreadsheet Productivity Research Interest Group) has organized a cluster of sessions for the Fall INFORMS conference in New Orleans. See Jenny's report in the newsletter and check out the conference website (http://www.informs.org/Conf/NO2005/) for more details. You can also contact Jenny at Janet.Wagner@umb.edu to learn how you can get involved with SPRIG.

 

-   The INFORM-ED reception and business meeting will be held on the Sunday evening (November 13) of the conference. The forum will provide snacks, beverages (beer, wine, soda, cheese, crackers, etc.), updates on INFORM-ED's efforts, and a forum for discussion of education issues. Plan to attend and bring your colleagues and graduate students (individuals who are not currently members of INFORM-ED are welcome to attend).

 

-   Ioana Popescu and Armann Ingolfsson are organizing an education cluster for the EURO 06 conference will be held in Reykjavik, Iceland from July 2 to 5, 2006. See Armann's report in this newsletter for more details and information on how you can contribute.

OTHER NOTES OF INTEREST

-   Call for Nominations - INFORM-ED will hold its biannual elections at the forums annual reception and business meeting. Terms for all INFORM-ED offices are two years and begin immediately upon election. Please contact me by October 1 if you are interested in running for an INFORM-ED office.

 

-   Steve Powell, Academic Director of INFORMS Summer Workshop on Teaching Management Science, organized the 2005 INFORMS Summer Workshop on Teaching Management Science. The workshop (was held on July 28-31 at the Harrison Conference Center in Lake Bluff, Illinois) was a tremendous success, offering great sessions and a tremendous opportunity to interact with colleagues who are interested in ORMS education. See Steve's report in this newsletter and visit the website (http://www.informs.org/Edu/TMSWorkshop/) to access materials from both the 2004 and 2005 workshops.

 

-   Armann Ingolfsson organized an education cluster for the 2005 CORS (Canadian Operational Research Society) meeting in Halifax, Nova Scotia from May 16 to 18. For more information, visit the 2005 CORS website (http://myweb.dal.ca/jblake/cors2005/).

 

-   Erhan Erkut organized an education cluster for the 2005 IFORS (International Federation of Operational Research Societies) meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii from July 11 to 15. I had the good fortune to participate in and attend many of the education sessions at this conference - these sessions were extremely well-attended and generated a great deal of excitement. Visit the 2005 IFORS website (http://www.informs.org/Conf/IFORS2005/) for more information.

 

-   Donna Llewellyn (INFORMS VP for Education) and I are organizing a meeting to discuss 'Issues faced by isolated OR academicians' at the upcoming INFORMS conference in New Orleans.  It has become apparent that there are a number of faculty at smaller colleges and universities, often in math departments or other liberal arts settings, who are the only (or nearly only) Operations Researcher around.  INFORM-ED and the INFORMS Board of Directors are interested in hearing about ways that we can better serve this population.  The date, time, and location of this meeting are yet to be determined, but will be posted on the INFORM-ED website and listed in the conference program. Please contact either Donna (donna.llewellyn@cetl.gatech.edu) or me if you are an 'isolated OR academician' and are interested in participating in this meeting.


- Denise Troxell has been invited to be the guest editor of INFORMS Transactions on Education's special issue titled 'Effective use of Software in the MS/OR Classroom .' This special issue is scheduled to appear in September 2006 issue of ITE. Submissions are due April 1, 2006. For more information, please review the call for papers.

STATUS REPORTS OF ONGOING EDUCATION INITIATIVES

-   John Fowler (Combined Colloquia Chair) updates us on his committees' progress in developing the program for INFORMS Combined Colloquia (the Teaching Effectiveness Colloquium, Doctoral Student Colloquium, and Industry Colloquium) for the upcoming annual INFORMS Conference in New Orleans (November 13 - 16).

 

-   William Christian (VP - Projects) updates us on his investigation into the benefits INFORM-ED could accrue from participation by corporate trainers/educators.

 

-   Chris Zappe (VP - Publications and past Case Competition Chair) updates us on the state of INFORM-ED publications.

 

-   Mary Beth Kurz (Secretary/Treasurer and Chair of the Teaching Effectiveness Colloquium) updates us on the seventh annual TEC and explains how you can participate in the 2005 Colloquium (to be held at the upcoming annual INFORMS Conference in New Orleans).

 

-   Tasha Innis (Case Competition Chair) update us on the sixth annual Case Competition (to be held at the upcoming annual INFORMS Conference in New Orleans).

 

-   Julie Swann (VP - External Relations) discusses her progress in developing INFORM-ED's speaker program for Local and Student Chapters.

 

-   Pinar Keskinocak (Vice President - Programs) reports on the INFORM-ED track of sponsored sessions she has organized for the 2005 INFORMS Conference in New Orleans (November 13 - 16).

 

-   Joel Sokol (Editor of the "Issues in Education" Column in ORMS Today) previews the next few columns and invites you to contribute to the column.

 

-   John Kros (Webmaster) discusses additions and enhancement to our website.

 

-   Tom Grossman (INFORMS Case and Teaching Materials Editor) discusses the status of the Case and Teaching Materials initiative.

 

I encourage you to get involved with INFORM-ED! Please contact the coordinator of any INFORM-ED project/initiative or me (at jcochran@cab.latech.edu or 318/257-3445) if you have any questions or suggestions (or would like to volunteer!).

 

Jim Cochran

INFORM-ED President

INFORMS Forum on Education Officers

President:

Jim Cochran (jcochran@cab.latech.edu)

Treasurer/Secretary:

Mary Beth Kurz (mkurz@clemson.edu)

Vice President - Programs:

Pinar Keskinocak (pinar@isye.gatech.edu)

Vice President - Projects:

William Christian (christwa@jmu.edu)

Vice President - Publications:

Chris Zappe (zappe@bucknell.edu)

INFORMS Forum on Education Editors

"Issues in Education" Column in OR/MS Today:

Joel Sokol (jsokol@ISyE.GATech.edu)

INFORM-ED Website:

John Kros (krosj@mail.ecu.edu)

INFORM-ED Newsletter:

Mike Racer (mracer@mocha.memphis.edu)

 

IN THIS NEWSLETTER:

 

 

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Issues in Education - Joel Sokol

 

"The OR/MS Today 'Issues in Education' column welcomes contributions on any aspect of OR/MS education, from general to specific.  To submit a column (or to get feedback about the appropriateness of an idea for a column), email Joel Sokol, jsokol@isye.gatech.edu." As always, new columns (and new columnists) are more than welcome. If you prefer to bounce an idea off me first before sending in yourcolumn, please feel free to do that as well.

 

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WEBFLASH - John Kros

 

The INFORM-ED website is updated with information regarding the Fall INFORMS meeting now scheduled for San Francisco. Go out and take a look at http://education.forum.informs.org/. The site has averaged around 150 hits from May to September. Hits to the site will definitely pick up as we get closer to the Fall meeting date. If anyone has suggestions or items to post to the website please email me at krosj@mail.ecu.edu. See ya'll in San Francisco for the INFORMS meeting.

 

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Publications - Christopher J. Zappe

 

Update on the 6th Annual INFORMS Case Competition

 

INFORM-ED is pleased to continue its co-sponsorship of the Annual Peer-Reviewed Case Competition this fall. This year's competition, as in the past five years, is jointly sponsored by INFORMS Education Committee, INFORMS Case and Teaching Materials Initiative, and INFORM-ED. It is designed to encourage the creation, dissemination, and use of new, unpublished cases in operations research and the management sciences. All submissions and supporting documentation were due to the coordinator of the competition, Professor Tasha R. Inniss of Spelman College, by September 12, 2005. We are pleased to report that a large number of submissions were received for this year's competition.

 

Up to four finalists will be selected and notified by the coordinator within the next several weeks. Finalists will give thirty-minute presentations of their entries at two special open sessions of the 2005 INFORMS Annual Meeting in San Francisco, California. Note that these sessions are scheduled for the early afternoon (1:30-3:00 pm) and late afternoon (4:30-6:00 pm) of Sunday, November 13. The panel of judges will select the winning entry from the finalists based on these presentations. The winner will be announced at the INFORM-ED Business meeting at the 2005 INFORMS Conference.

 

To learn more about the guidelines for submitting a case to this annual competition in the future, please visit http://education.forum.informs.org//ccomp05.htm

or contact Professor Inniss at TInniss@spelman.edu. We look forward to seeing you in San Francisco.

 

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Lone Instructors - David Rader

 

At the recent INFORMS conference in Denver, there was a cluster, organized outside of INFORM-ED, on "Undergraduate OR Education".  A majority of the talks were given by people from mathematics departments of predominantly undergraduate institutions, not the typical location for INFORMS members.  A central theme that emerged in the subsequent discussions was that more support was needed for those of us who are (a) teaching primarily undergraduate students in technical majors (mathematics, engineering, computer science, etc) and (b) the only people on our respective campuses that have an OR background.


With that in mind, I am interested in starting such a support group.  If you are interested in participating, please contact me at david.rader@rose-hulman.edu.  My hope is that we will be able to meet during the Annual Meeting (perhaps after the INFORMS-ED meeting) to determine how and where such a group should proceed.

 

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High School OR

 

Again this year, Ken Chelst will be offering a tutorial on bringing OR into the high schools. This is a wonderful section, and wonderful opportunity for each of us.

 

Session Information  : Monday Nov 14, 10:00 - 11:30


Title:  Tutorial: Bring OR into your local High School: Mission Not Impossible
Chair: Kenneth Chelst,Chair of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, Wayne State University, 4815 Fourth St., Detroit MI 48201, United States, kchelst@wayne.edu


Abstract Details


Title: Tutorial: Bring OR into your local High School: Mission Not Impossible
 Lead: Kenneth Chelst,Chair of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, Wayne State University, 4815 Fourth St., Detroit MI 48201, United States, kchelst@wayne.edu
 
Abstract: We present a collection of OR activities that were specifically designed to enrich the high school math curriculum. The session will provide guidance as to how to reach out to your local high schools and offer short workshops built around these materials. The goal of INFORMS is to create a network of like-minded operations researchers who are interested in outreach and can nurture this mission. We provide an update of our efforts in Colorado and North Carolina. All attendees who commit to reaching out will receive a complimentary copy of the book Does this line ever move? Everyday Applications of Operations Research

 

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EURO '06 - Armann Ingolfsson

 

The EURO 06 conference will be held in Reykjavik, Iceland from July 2 to 5, 2006 (see http://www.euro2006.org/ ).  Ioana Popescu (ioana.POPESCU@insead.edu) and Armann Ingolfsson (armann.ingolfsson@ualberta.ca) are organizing an education stream with 7 sessions.  Many people have showed interest, but there is still room for a few presentations.  Contact Ioana or Armann if you have an idea for a presentation that you would like to discuss.  Note that hotel capacity in Reykjavik is limited, so early booking (this fall) is recommended.

 

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INFORM-ed @ INFORMS, 2005 - Pinar Keskinocak

 

Title: 

Education (INFORMED)

Chair: 

Pinar Keskinocak,Associate Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Industrial and Systems, 765 Ferst Drive, Atlanta GA 30345, United States, pinar@isye.gatech.edu


Sunday Nov 13, 08:00 - 09:30 : Advances in Teaching Operations Research and Management Science

 

Chair: 

Matt Drake,Doctoral Student, Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Industrial and Sys Engineering, 765 Ferst Drive, Atlanta GA 30332, United States, gtg148k@prism.gatech.edu

 

Sunday Nov 13, 10:00 - 11:30 : New Cases in Supply Chain Management and Information Technology

 

Chair: 

Eric Johnson,Professor, Tuch School of Business, Dartmouth College, Hanover NH 03755, United States, M.Eric.Johnson@dartmouth.edu

 

Sunday Nov 13, 13:30 - 15:00 : Teaching Case Competition I

 

Chair: 

Tasha R. Inniss,Assistant Professor of Mathematics, Spelman College, 350 Spelman Lane, SW, Box 320, Atlanta GA 30314-4399, United States, TInniss@spelman.edu

 

Sunday Nov 13, 16:30 - 18:00 : Teaching Case Competition II

 

Chair: 

Tasha R. Inniss,Assistant Professor of Mathematics, Spelman College, 350 Spelman Lane, SW, Box 320, Atlanta GA 30314-4399, United States, TInniss@spelman.edu

 

Monday Nov 14, 10:00 - 11:30 : Tutorial: Bring OR into your local High School: Mission Not Impossible

 

Chair: 

Kenneth Chelst,Chair of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, Wayne State University, 4815 Fourth St., Detroit MI 48201, United States, kchelst@wayne.edu

 

Monday Nov 14, 16:30 - 18:00 : INFORM-ED 10th Anniversary

 

Chair: 

Mary Beth Kurz,Assistant Professor, Clemson University, 110 Freeman Hall, Clemson SC 29631, United States, mkurz@clemson.edu

 

Tuesday Nov 15, 08:00 - 09:30 : Recent Innovations in Teaching OR/MS

 

Chair: 

Pelin Pekgun,Georgia Institute of Technology, 765 Ferst Drive, Atlanta GA, United States, ppekgun@isye.gatech.edu

 

Tuesday Nov 15, 10:00 - 11:30 : Workforce Communication for Undergraduate IE Schools and for Analytical Work in Business Schools

 

Chair: 

Judith Norback, Ph.D.,Dir. of Workforce & Academic Communication, Georgia Tech Industrial & Systems Engineering, 765 Ferst Drive, Atlanta GA 30305, United States, jnorback@isye.gatech.edu

 

Tuesday Nov 15, 16:30 - 18:00 : New Horizons for Higher Education

 

Chair: 

Don Phillips,drdon@tamu.edu

 

Wednesday Nov 16, 08:00 - 09:30 : Joint Panel Discussion: Education in OR & Healthcare

 

Chair: 

Allen Holder,Trinity University Mathematics, One Trinity Place, San Antonio TX, United States, aholder@trinity.edu

 

 

(Also on the Conference website:

https://informs.emeetingsonline.com/emeetings/formbuilder/clustersessionlist.asp?clnno=740&mmnno=141)

 

 

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Update on Outreach - Julie Swann


INFORM-ED has recently created a Local/Student Chapters Outreach program.  The program is designed to increase the awareness of INFORM-ED activities and how the forum can benefit the chapters, as well as to increase the future participation in INFORM-ED.


The program will match an INFORM-ED member with a chapter that has expressed interest in knowing more about INFORM-ED.  The member will attend the meeting and talk about what INFORM-ED is, what we do, and what the forum has to offer members.  A presentation will be provided to the member in advance, along with guidance on its content if desired.


So far we have had several requests and several volunteers, and we look forward to increasing participation. If you wish to request a visit from INFORM-ED to your chapter or volunteer your services for this external outreach, please contact Julie Swann at jswann@isye.gatech.edu.  Let's spread the good word about the Teaching of Better!

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Award Winners - Mike Racer

 

Just a reminder: If you, or anyone you know, have received a teaching award, please let us know. Let's tout our achievements!

 

Thanks.

 

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Just a Thought - Preparedness - Mike Racer

 

As you all know, this year's INFORMS Conference has been moved to San Francisco because of a devastating hurricane on the Gulf Coast. The whole idea should make us all pause, and realize how our expertise can make a difference in these situations.

 

As I'm sitting here putting this newsletter together, I am listening to a symposium from MIT. This symposium considered how disaster response? Two of the lecturers were INFORMS President Dick Larson and INFORMS member Yossi Sheffi. (The video from this symposium can be seen at http://web.mit.edu/katrina/symposia/sept30/)

 

You and I have some real skills for this sort of situation. How can we help to make our communities better prepared? Whatever your location, there are things to consider. Whether it's hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, or man-made disasters, we need to be prepared. How can you and I help?

 

In my free time, I spend a lot of time with the Boy Scouts program. Right now, we have two initiatives underway in my District. First, how can we do a better job of helping our families to be prepared, and our communities to be prepared? How can we make sure our Cub Scout Packs and Scout Troops are prepared when they go on an outing? Second, how can we help others after some disaster has occurred?

 

These are logistics problems. These are systems issues. These are exactly the kinds of things that you and I are good at. I urge each of you to look around for an opportunity to help your community in this regard.

 

Thanks.

 

 

Mike

(mracer@memphis.edu)

Ph: 901-678-3285(work)

 

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Helpful Links

 

INFORMS

INFORMed

Science of Better

 

 

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