What's Your StORy? Veronica White

Name: Veronica White

Affiliation: University of Wisconsin-Madison

Job Title: Ph.D. candidate in industrial and systems engineering

INFORMS member since 2018.

I got a pamphlet in the mail about industrial engineering (IE) and how industrial engineers improve processes and help inform decision-making. When I started IE, my IE 101 Professor Leslie Potter stated, “Industrial engineers improve processes to help people.” As I moved forward, I particularly fell in love with how modeling can be used to solve everyday problems and started doing undergraduate research at the beginning of my senior year.

Explore what interests you, and remember, you can do it! OR/MS can be intimidating at times, but with passion, repetition and time, you will become an expert.

There is also government and private research (e.g., think tanks, foundations). Ultimately, you can have a successful career no matter what you choose. It’s been a great couple of years for the academic job market. I can’t say much about the industry job market as I haven’t looked at those opportunities, but my peers have been successful in finding industry positions. Government jobs are also pretty consistently posted on usajobs.gov. Lastly, if you’re interested in private research, it is best to research and network with the organizations you are interested in and regularly check for job openings.

My ideal job is one in which I can impact my community and society, inspire more individuals to enter OR/MS, and educate and engage the general public on OR/MS to make it more approachable.

Yes, while at NIJ, I had the opportunity to work on and get exposure to various issues in criminal justice, such as re-entry to society, crime-mapping metrics, school safety, AI explainability and program improvement. Ultimately, the experience was so rewarding; I highly recommend that students apply for external funding opportunities because they can help shape your ideas and give you a broader network.

Seeing presentations and talking with individuals working in similar topic areas and societal issues. It’s a great place to find an additional support network of peers.

For students, I would first connect to your local student chapter. What groups you join beyond that depends on what you want to gain from that network. For example, JFIG and MIF have great social communities and regularly post more general professional opportunities, awards, and networking. In contrast, the more technically specific societies (e.g., Decision Analysis and Optimization) are great for learning about awards, papers, conferences and events that might more uniquely fit your research interests.

Thank you! In 2022, myself, Carmen Haseltine, Mary Ogidiben and Liz Scaria developed and hosted a workshop to introduce BIPOC high school students to the field of operations research. The workshop was delivered to 28 students and designed to increase student awareness, confidence and contemplation of OR/MS using a motivational example of choosing social media influencers. Building upon the success of last year’s project, we are now establishing yearly outreach workshops hosted by the UW-Madison and Penn State INFORMS student chapters that engage underrepresented minority students in OR/MS fields. Additionally, we are creating a comprehensive informational packet for INFORMS Student Chapters that serves as a standalone guide for student chapters to consistently engage in high school outreach. Any INFORMS member can access our materials and other outreach resources contributed by other members at https://connect.informs.org/diversity/resources. All you have to do is log into your INFORMS account.

The INFORMS Conference on Security was great for individuals interested in national security, public safety and justice applications. This conference is also jointly attended by NSF and other funders, so it can be a great way to learn about available funding opportunities and what they are looking for. In general, smaller INFORMS conferences are a great way to meet and network with your peers whose interests closely align with yours.

Singing – I am a part of the Philharmonic Chorus of Madison.

“Black, Brown, and Bruised: How Racialized STEM Education Stifles Innovation” by Ebony McGee. This is a must-read because it clearly articulates the unique challenges of BIPOC individuals in STEM, how the lack of diversity in STEM stifles innovations, and what solutions currently exist to start addressing these issues. What’s most amazing about this book is the many research studies it points to that support the book’s main points.

“The Rings of Power”