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Ra’Von Bonner needs a breakout year. The Illinois reserve running back rushed for 225 yards last season with three touchdowns in his third season on the field for the University of Illinois football team. If the dominoes fell right, this could’ve been the season that launched Bonner into the NFL. But Bonner has asthma, a condition he was hospitalized for a handful of times as a child. And though Big Ten officials are pushing a plan to play football safely in 2020, Bonner isn’t buying it.

Big data and analytics has had a tremendous impact on operations across the aero sector. Initially driven by OEMs and engine manufacturers, reliance on big data continues to expand, with airlines relying more on the data for operational improvements and seeking to deliver real-time insights to the cockpit. As the amount of data generated grow, organizations are looking for faster access to that information and seeking ways to garner additional insights, including helping airlines recover more quickly from the impact of Covid-19-related slowdowns.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning offer new ways to boost productivity, develop talent, and drive organizational change by enhancing managers’ ability to make the right calls in complex situations. Augmented intelligence tools have already made an impact for many companies, but the next revolution will happen when every aspect of a business, from top to bottom, is designed with AI in mind. Call this new construct the intelligent enterprise.

How we cast votes in federal elections is broken. We elect representatives into offices with terms that may last as many as six years, yet the process for casting a vote must be done within a 12-hour window, on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The roots of a designated day for voting dates back to 1845, when congress declared a national election day.  There is much at stake to get every and all votes verified and counted, to reflect the preferences of the majority.  

As the coronavirus pandemic shows no sign of abatement in the United States, the hope for a vaccine grows each day. But, when a safe vaccine is approved, the next challenge will be getting doses to everyone who needs it. Dr. Julie Swann is the department head and A. Doug Allison Distinguished Professor of the Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at NC State. She uses mathematical models to make health care and supply chains more efficient, effective and equitable. She spoke with GovExec Daily about the upcoming challenges of distributing the vaccine whenever it does become available.