We are drowning in numbers, and we no longer understand what they mean. Every day, headlines bombard us with figures meant to inform: billions in spending, trillions in debt, percentages signaling growth or decline. But for most of us, these numbers blur together. They register as “large” or “small,” but almost never as real. And that is more than a math problem. It is a civic one.
INFORMS has awarded Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) its 2026 Franz Edelman Award for Achievement in Advanced Analytics, Operations Research and Management Science, for reengineering how global cloud infrastructure is planned and delivered, applying advanced analytics and AI to orchestrate complex fulfillment decisions across its rapidly expanding data center network.
In the rush to adopt artificial intelligence, many employers are now requiring that employees use AI tools. As you’re using AI, be intentional and selective. It’s critical that you know yourself. Research published in Management Science found that AI is most valuable for people who understand their own abilities and limitations. Assess yourself, so you can factor this into your process for incorporating AI into your work.
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As the Russian army tightens its grip in Ukraine, fears grow of an unintended consequence of the war: a food-security crisis.
Health-product companies are scaling back operations in the country, but say they have a responsibility to provide their goods
March Madness begins March 15. Blue-blood programs like Villanova, Duke and Kansas are locks to make the tournament. Mid-majors like Loyola-Chicago and Murray State hope to pull upsets and advance to the second weekend. Virginia Commonwealth and BYU are just hoping for a spot in the Big Dance.
Political commentator and radio host Clay Travis expressed his disdain for the federal mask mandates for travel on commercial airlines. He tweeted on March 10, "The Biden administration has extended the mask mandates on airplanes for another thirty days. (It was expiring March 18th). Aside from the fact that masks do nothing, what imbeciles are still in favor of this mandate? If you truly think masks work you can wear one like an idiot." We rate the claim that "masks do nothing" as false. It has been proven that masks have helped prevent the spread of SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Several studies have shown that widespread mask-wearing is associated with reductions in disease transmission of COVID-19.
Francis Fukuyama, the American political scientist who once described the collapse of the Soviet Union as the “end of history,” suggested that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine might be called “the end of the end of history.” He meant that Vladimir Putin’s aggression signals a rollback of the ideals of a free Europe that emerged after 1991. Some observers suggest it may kick off a new Cold War, with an Iron Curtain separating the West from Russia.
OR/MS Today is the INFORMS member magazine that shares the latest research and best practices in operations research, analytics and the management sciences.
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