Time to engage in a world full of challenging problems

As we enter 2019, this is an exciting time for INFORMS and the O.R. and analytics community. Not only are INFORMS members doing amazing work in many diverse areas, but the demand for our knowledge, skills and experience grows by the day.

Around the world, societal problems are being addressed in ways both big and small. In many instances, O.R. and analytics are at the core of these wide-ranging solutions. Consider just a few:

• A new kidney exchange program that matches donors to recipients has already saved hundreds of lives.
• The world’s first two-sided spectrum auction reclaimed and repurposed 84 MHz of spectrum and generated $7 billion to help pay down the U.S. deficit.
• New drone technology is transforming healthcare by making it possible to deliver medicine to rural patients with chronic illnesses.
• New research shows optimizing the location of shelters improves recovery outcomes for human trafficking survivors.
• More than 800 volunteers have worked on 36 projects (and counting), partnering with non-profits to optimize their services through our Pro Bono Analytics program.  

These are just the tip of the iceberg. There are countless other examples that show the incredible extent to which O.R. and analytics are touching virtually every corner of society and the economy. INFORMS has been actively and successfully compiling and sharing many stories online, through social media, OR/MS Today and Analytics magazines, the Resoundingly Human podcast, the press and other channels, enhancing the awareness and interest of your important work. I encourage you to review these materials.

We want to share even more of these great examples with policymakers, decision-makers, other INFORMS members and the public. It is these types of stories that help explain to leaders and decision-makers the relevancy of O.R. and analytics and how we as community can help them solve problems in a world that is being rapidly transformed by technological change.

Moreover, as a profession, we need to engage even more with the world of challenging problems and develop multiperspective solutions. There are near limitless opportunities to bring together people who are interested in applied projects and research along with methodological researchers to collaborate to tackle important societal or industry problems.

For INFORMS and our profession to stay vibrant and relevant in an age where change manifests itself at a dizzying pace, this active engagement between practitioners and academia is absolutely essential. This will also lead to stronger, more meaningful engagement at the highest levels of government and industry, including pathways to continued funding for the basic research that so often leads to real applications and achievements.

A concrete example is our ongoing advocacy initiative. This effort is showcasing what our community does on topics that are important to society and to the legislative and regulatory agenda in Washington, D.C. For example, what is the best way to provide people with mobility solutions that combine the best of what public, private and sharing economy platforms have to offer? That’s just one important policy issue that intersects with our expertise.

The importance of communicating our message is not limited to the public policy arena. If you talk to a senior business leader and ask them what makes Uber work, they’ll say it’s computer science or AI. They seldom use the words “operations research.” Why? They don’t see the connection, or in some cases, they don’t even know what O.R. is. This is not a new problem. But INFORMS has the responsibility and opportunity to continue to communicate to, and educate, the outside world about what our community is doing to help Uber and UPS and so many other companies.

This is a two-way street. The more collaboration and problem-driven research that exists, the more real-world examples of impact that we share, the more we engage with leaders in and out of government, the more opportunities will be presented for O.R. and analytics professionals to tackle the next sets of important and exciting problems. I welcome any ideas you have on how INFORMS could better support this activity. In recognition of the importance of high-impact applications to our awareness building and advocacy initiative, I propose to highlight a set of applications drawn from the work being done by the community in each of my columns.

Let me turn now to two related but broader issues. Before the holidays, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine held a meeting about undergraduate education in data science and invited the leaders of societies that contribute to data science. I attended this meeting with Past President Nicholas Hall. As a community, INFORMS and the profession must develop approaches to engage and contribute to these efforts in developing undergraduate data science and analytics curricula. While my intent is not to define an answer as to how we should do this, I encourage members of our community interested in this topic to organize sessions on these and related topics at upcoming meetings. Recognizing the multidisciplinary nature of data science, we are also working with other societies involved in data science and offering a “big tent” where these curricular issues can be discussed.

The other issue is the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). I have personally been involved in several recent meetings with leaders in Washington seeking to understand the relationship and relevancy between AI/ML and O.R. and analytics. Our community should embrace a messaging strategy and practical approach that helps leaders understand and appreciate both the relevancy and independence of our fields with AI/ML. I will have more to say in future columns on this topic.

The future for INFORMS and our community is bright. We have the chance to drive heightened interest and meaningful results that keep each of us passionate about our work and proud of the difference we can make in the world around us.

Note: If you or your organization have stories to share that show the incredible impact that O.R. and analytics have in terms of saving lives, saving money and solving problems, contact INFORMS Public Relations Manager Ashley Kilgore at [email protected].