‘Like a weight off my shoulders’: Low COVID case numbers bring optimism, change
MADISON, Wis. – Low COVID-19 case numbers and hospitalizations have Rock County Epidemiologist Nick Zupan’s spirits high.
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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MADISON, Wis. – Low COVID-19 case numbers and hospitalizations have Rock County Epidemiologist Nick Zupan’s spirits high.
Gowanda native and 2012 graduate Zach Steever took a winding road to get to where he’s recently gotten. Following his graduation from Gowanda High School, he attended the University at Buffalo to pursue a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering. Steever translated that degree, followed by a master’s in operations research into a job with the Philadelphia Eagles in the National Football League.
Customer loyalty programs have been around for decades and are used to help businesses, marketers and sellers build a sustainable relationship with their customers. But do they work? A recent study sought to find out and researchers learned that while yes, customer loyalty programs do work, perhaps not in ways most may assume.
Michigan and Minnesota both had ample opportunities to push out vaccines through professional health care settings and into the arms of patients. They have essentially the same numbers of hospitals, rural clinics and doctors per capita.
More than a year into the pandemic, issues in the supply chain are still causing shortages.

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