MANY TYPES OF ANALYTICS PRACTITIONERS call big companies home. Some focus on building, maintaining and running large-scale models that they can use to support a set of operational decisions on an ongoing basis. For example, logistics analysts work to continuously optimize the routing of freight in a distribution network as supply and demand conditions change. Other practitioners are in an R&D role and focus on developing and refining products containing decision-support analytics for use by others in solving specific types of problems, oftentimes implemented through software. For example, optimization algorithms lie at the heart of revenue management systems used in the services industry and enterprise resource planning systems used in manufacturing. Yet other types of analytics practitioners may mine large datasets looking for insights into customer behavior or targets for new drug development.
Volume 35, Number 5, October 2008
FEATURE ARTICLES
DIGITAL EDITION
DEPARTMENTS 
Inside Story
Close the Barn Door
As I write this on a beautiful Sunday in September, I’m wondering if my bank will still exist on Monday. After all, if Lehman Brothers – a global investment bank with assets of $639 billion, a firm that dates back to 1850 – can go under, what’s to prevent my bank and its $809 billion in assets from suffering the same fate?
President's Desk
Keep Doing Good with Good O.R.
By the time most of you read this column, the 2008 INFORMS Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., will be little more than a memory. My hope, as I write this column in early September, is that our “O.R. Goes to Washington” meeting will continue the trends of recent years and be yet another successful, record-breaking event. Already, we have nearly 4,000 abstracts (breaking last year’s previous record of 3,501), and many thought-provoking and innovative events covering topics from health facility access and portfolio optimization to disaster recovery, interplanetary supply chain networks and much more.
Issues in Education
Teaching OR/MS to Net-Gens: A Paradigm Gap?
Technology has shifted the learning paradigm for the new generation of students – the “Net-Gens,” who have grown up in a multitasking environment where knowledge exists in small, disposable pieces. [We use the term “Net-Gens”to refer to the generation of individuals born since the mid-1980s who do not know a world without ubiquitous technology usage and the Internet. This is a contraction of “The Net Generation.” Other labels attached to this group include “Digital Natives,” “Neomillenials” and the “Internet Generation.”] They operate in a pull mode for their information needs. Unfortunately, this approach to learning is not suitable for OR/MS, which requires students to develop structured analytical skills and mental schema for modeling. Piecemeal knowledge acquisition can create cognitive overload through excessive extraneous information processing and prevent students from effective assimilation of the information necessary for learning the modeling concepts.However, continuing with the old way of teaching OR/MS may alienate the “Net-Gen”students from the discipline altogether.OR/MS educators therefore face the challenge of aligning their teaching paradigm with the Net-Gens’ learning style.
INFORMS in the News
O.R., Reporters and Decision-Makers
As I write this in early September, we’re preparing for the association’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C., and I’m reminded of the fact that INFORMS members can share in efforts to familiarize decision-makers and the public about the contributions made by operations researchers.
Was It Something I Said
Help Wanted: Wise Advice for Venice and I
I recently received an e-mail from a young student (“Venice”) from a faraway urban university similar to the place that I teach. She had contacted me after seeing me on http://www.bnet.com/2422-13722_23-178846.html [which gives me the perfect opportunity to say that while I don’t consider myself an O.R. Wise Man, I do play one on an Internet video].
Forum
The Reward of Risk and Innovation
The recent 2008 summer Olympics held in Beijing, China, produced dramatic moments of both triumph and tragedy as top athletes from around the world competed for gold, silver and bronze medals, as well as a permanent place in history. Certain events will forever be remembered for athletes pushing the boundary of their performance by breaking world records, overcoming adversity or winning by the slimmest of margins. For example, Jamaica’s Usain Bolt won the 100 meter and 200 meter track events and the 4x100 meter relay in world record fashion, while Michael Phelps of the United States and Great Britain’s Rebecca Adlington both touched gold by winning the 100 meter individual butterfly by one-hundredth of a second and the 400 meter individual freestyle by seven-hundredths of a second [1], respectively – a mere fingertip’s length margin of victory.
PuzzlOR
Noah’s 3DPP
The three dimensional packing problem (3DPP) is a particularly complex problem in operations research. To explore the subtleties of the 3DPP, let’s look at one of the oldest packing problems in history, Noah’s ark.
ORacle
The Insider’s Parable
“Making four hearts, game and rubber. 620 points,” the tall, quiet black man announced. At another table, nearby, the host of the bridge party stood up and said, “That was the last table to finish this hand. Why don’t we take a 20-minute break?” The group readily agreed, and left the six, four person tables to head for the refreshments on the other side of the room.