Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:00:00 EST

How did they do it? Take a group of highly specialized computer wafer technicians and create one of the top computer chip manufacturers in the world? In this interview, Karl Kempf, an Intel Fellow and Director of Junision Engineering at Intel, explains how his expert group brought better Junision making to Intel – and helped a growing company blossom.

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:00:00 EST

Did you ever watch the way that patients, nurses, and doctors flow through the fast-moving doors of an emergency room? If you didn’t, you’re in good company – neither have most hospital administrators. Prof. Carter, an expert in the American and Canadian healthcare systems, explains the hidden costs in the North American healthcare and the ways that quantitative experts are modeling current hospital systems to shape future healthcare during the Obama Era.

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:00:00 EST

All the world’s a supply chain, says Prof. Mohan Sodhi, and the answers to the vexing questions about the Great Recession lie in an understanding of how today’s economy connects to the supply chain model. Building on his tour-de-force article in the Financial Times, Prof. Sodhi takes a sobering look at the world’s economic problems and some simple ways to keep companies from the brink.

Fri, 23 Jul 2009 13:00:00 EST

Analytics and operations research play a crucial role in bringing better healthcare to the poorest sections of the world – that’s an important lesson taught by The Clinton Foundation, an NGO that is making important strides in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa. Hear Justin Cohen of CSHOR, the foundation’s Center for Strategic HIV Operations Research, as he explains how measuring and analyzing bring a surprising boost to the fight against a stubborn challenge.

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 13:00:00 EST

When Lawrence Wein, an expert in bioterror and former Editor-in-Chief of Operations Research, prepared to publish an important paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science on preventing contamination of America’s milk supply, the Bush Administration tried to block it. Now Prof. Wein’s recommendations on preventing attacks using botulism and anthrax, as well as recommendations about securing U.S. borders, are U.S. policy – as well as the subject of opinion pieces in The New York Times and other trusted editorial pages. Hear a special interview with Prof. Wein, who delivered the 2008 INFORMS Philip McCord Lecture, on homeland security and staying one step ahead of the next terrorist strike.

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:00:00 EST

Wake County, North Carolina’s public schools aren’t facing the problems of decay found in some dying metropolitan areas; their problem is growth. The Wake County school body is 140,000 strong, attending 160 schools, and growing by 3,000-6,000 children a year. How does a growing school system reassign children from one school to another without angering parents? How does it comply with state and county mandates? And how can the school system demonstrate to voters that their decisions are fair? Hear how the Wake County Public School System collaborated with operations researchers at SAS to develop an equitable, easy-to-use solution that is improving by the day.

Fri, 5 Sep 2009 13:00:00 EST

Epidemiologists are not the only group working to prevent the outbreak of Swine Flu, or H1N1 Virus, in the northern hemisphere this fall. Experts in analytics and operations research have a special role. Hear operations researcher Sheldon Jacobson discuss his work making sure that vaccines and antidotes reach people speedily at this time of danger. Prof. Jacobson also discusses his work helping children receive combination vaccines that can prevent them from contracting dangerous diseases.

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:00:00 EST

A bolt of understanding zapped the business world first in 2006, when Tom Davenport co-authored a Harvard Business Review article about competing on analytics and then in 2007, when Harvard Business Press published “Competing on Analytics: The New Science of Winning,” the book he co-wrote with Jeanne G. Harris. Since then, the two works have gone onto bestseller status. Prof. Davenport has been named one of the world’s top three analysts of business and technology – listen to his thoughts about operations research, analytics, and his column in the current issue of Analytics in this special podcast.

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST

Fans of baseball and other sports have been fascinated with data and statistics for decades. In recent years, though, numbers crunchers beginning with Bill James have been delving deeper to settle sports arguments, help teams plan, and tell municipal planners if there's any money for their cities in building large sports stadiums. Hear Jim Cochran, an expert in sports and analytics, tell you what the numbers reveal in major league baseball, NCAA basketball and football, the NBA, and more.

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST

Ever seen the cartoon of the statistician who waded in a river whose average depth was three feet and drowned when it dipped to six feet? Averages only tell you so much, and Professor Sam L. Savage of Stanford University has made a cause of his career warning against simplistic mathematical assumptions. The author of "The Flaw of Averages: Why We Underestimate the Face of Uncertainty" offers his perspective in this segment.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST

Whether we take a trip on the highway or the virtual superhighway that we call the Internet, we are all caught up in a network – hopefully not one that's crumbling. Hear Prof. Professor Anna Nagurney, Director of the Virtual Center for Supernetworks at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and author of "Fragile Networks" Fragile Networks, discuss what's going right in our networks of highways, broadband networks, and financial networks – and why the work ahead is critical.

Fri, 4 Dec 2009 13:00:00 EST

Few scientists today doubt the seriousness of climate change and the dangers of global warming. Yet political leaders and the public have still not made the reduction of greenhouse gases and pollutants a priority. Hear MIT Professor John Sterman explain how math modelers empower decisionmakers and voters alike to examine the data and its implications, using the tools found at www.ClimateInteractive.org.

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:00:00 EST

How can we make life and death decisions? How should business approach costly endeavors? What helps teenagers avoid mistakes that could derail the rest of their lives? Stanford Professor Ronald A. Howard was present at the creation of decision theory and decision analysis. Hear the decision guru explain how to scientifically approach the important decisions in our work and lives. Read his full-length interview in the current issue of Decision Analysis.

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 13:00:00 EST

How can you survey data more carefully so your candidate will win a tight election? Doug Samuelson of Infologix talks about using operations research to help at the polls, how 2009's Congressional and gubernatorial elections signal 2010's races, and what the Keys to the White House suggest about the 2012 presidential election. Bonus: Hear Doug explain his homeland security research on escaping from an attack in a public place.

Thurs, 14 Jan 2010 13:00:00 EST

As the Haitian earthquake tragedy unfolds, the challenge of using the very best humanitarian logistics – supply chain management principles for emergencies and disasters – becomes crucial for those speeding relief to victims. In this special news podcast, hear Pinar Keskinocak and Julie Swann, the directors of the Center for Health and Humanitarian Logistics, explain how their team models the way rescuers can rapidly deploy to nations like Haiti that face natural and manmade calamities.

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 13:00:00 EST

Why are the customers who don't even know you your best hope for making your product news go viral? Hear Dina Mayzlin of the Center for Customer Insights at at the Yale School of Management and David Godes of the RH Smith School at the University of Maryland explain where traditional advertising and word-of-mouth diverge, and how marketing scientists are exploring the surprising way that everyday conversation makes business grow.

Fri, 4 Feb 2010 13:00:00 EST

Businesses are increasingly turning to O.R. consultants and vendors to improve performance and make important decisions. But before the work begins, everyone needs to think through the plan, clean up the data, and find the right tools for the job. Listen to SAS's Mary Grace Crissey as she reviews today's O.R./business collaborations and advises everyone what to expect.

Fri, 18 Feb 2010 13:00:00 EST

Are you looking for a consultant who's an expert in business analytics and operations research? Hear Brian Lewis of Vanguard Software walk you through the steps of determining your needs, picking a consultant, and collaborating in this do-it-yourselfer for business people hiring O.R. providers.

Fri, 4 Mar 2010 13:00:00 EST

What are the dangers of flying in the wake of the Christmas bomber? What's the danger of runway collisions in airports like Los Angeles International? How significant are differences in safety record between airlines in First World and developing countries? Should we beware smaller, regional carriers, as a PBS Frontline program suggested? MIT's Arnold Barnett, an operations researcher and expert in air safety, explains his research in this important broadcast. (And watch for publication of his study later this year in Transportation Science.)

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:00:00 EST

Where is the intersection between IT and analytics? MIT's Michael Schrage says the two may very well meet in the simple experiments that companies can do via social media and in the retail store. Schrage, who speaks at the 2010 INFORMS Practice Meeting, previews his provocative talk for CIOs and executives in this vibrant podcast. Register for the practice meeting to hear Schrage and analytics experts from top companies at http://meetings.informs.org/Practice2010.

Fri, 08 Apr 2010 13:00:00 EST

Predicting the purchasing patterns of consumers has been an inexact science for math modelers, but two researchers believe the answer is not in modeling the way that consumers behave but mapping their many disparate thoughts and actions on the way to their purchase decision. Hear Warren Lieberman and Michael Raskin of Veritec Solutions on new insights into a perennial challenge for marketers.

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 13:00:00 EST

When physicians choose radiation to battle cancer and cancerous tumors, they are fighting not just in three dimensions but four – they must take into account not only the shape and size of the cancer but also the fourth dimension of time in modeling treatment. Hear operations researcher Eva K. Lee, Director of the Center for Operations Research in Medicine and HealthCare at Georgia Tech explain how her O.R. innovations have helped create treatment plans that do a better job healing patients, avoiding radiation damage to healthy tissue, and saving a half billion dollars in related healthcare costs. And hear her reflect on improved homeland security modeling for biological events ranging from the outbreak of the H1N1 flu outbreak to bioterror attacks.

Fri, 14 Mar 2010 13:00:00 EST

When the reservoir for America's largest city, environmentalists, and local residents clash, can the interests of all be resolved? The Delaware River Basin Commission, was able to redress the needs of all these groups, as well as the four states sitting on the commission. In the process, the commission and its partners earned a nomination as a finalist in the 2010 Franz Edelman Competition. Learn how operations research was the key from lead researcher Peter Kolesar of Columbia University.

Fri, 28 May 2010 13:00:00 EST

In an age when advances in technology are threatened by attackers who would hack and disable that technology, the United States and other governments are focusing more and more resources on protecting their infrastructure. Professors at the Naval Postgraduate School are conducting extensive research into protecting the U.S. transportation, communications, and energy systems. Hear David Alderson explain what his colleagues are pioneering - and why the controversy about the best way to protect the infrastructure is more contentious than ever.

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 13:00:00 EST

When digital cameras were developing, analysts watching the stocks of companies like Kodak and Polaroid said, 'stay with film'. And when VoIP Internet phones began, stock analysts cautioned telecommunications companies about entering the new market. Why? Hear Wharton's Mary J. Benner, author of the study Securities Analysts and Incumbent Response to Radical Technological Change, published by Organization Science, explain her surprising findings.

Fri, 24 Jun 2010 13:00:00 EST

If you want to improve your bottom line, you'll find that determining a better price for your product is far less painful than trying to drive costs down. As some business people grow more sophisticated in their pricing and do more than just set prices by conjecture, one expert wonders why most businesses don't set prices scientifically. Dr. E. Andrew Boyd, who appears regularly on KUHF-FM's Engines of our Ingenuity and in the pages of Analytics, has worked with major airlines setting prices. Hear him explain the history of pricing and reservations in the airlines - including the unexpected roll of gumballs. What you'll learn will surprise you.

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EST

In today's world of spy vs. spy, you need to do more than outfight your opponent; you need to out-think him, as well. Edward H. Kaplan of Yale University, the 2010- 2011 INFORMS Morse Lecturer has been using analytics to model potential terror and bioterror attacks since 9-11 and the anthrax mailings that followed weeks later. In a study, Terror Queues, appearing in the upcoming July/August issue of Operations Research, he explains how techniques now being used to study grocery store queues can also be used to assess the strength of terror plotters. This analysis, in turn, strengthens the ability of governments to thwart planned attacks on civilians. You’ll be amazed at the novel thinking in these new techniques.

Thur, 22 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EST

Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has a unique qualification: He holds a master's degree in operations research, making him one of the highest placed executives - and military men – in the world with a quantitative degree. In an exclusive interview, Admiral Mullen tells how his expertise in the decision sciences helps him make difficult choices for the armed services of the United States. Hear the admiral share his special views on how analytics in the military and business sector intersect.

Fri, 19 Aug 2010 13:00:00 EST

Turbulence on Wall Street Financial engineering came under a microscope in August 2007, when so-called "quant funds" suffered hundreds of millions of dollars of losses. A year later, when economic turmoil broadly hit finance and banking, mathematical modeling came again under scrutiny. Former Wall Street Journal reporter Scott Patterson examines the wins and losses in his new book "The Quants."

Fri, 3 Sep 2010 13:00:00 EST

Shouldn't major business decisions about acquiring a company be made strictly on the merits? University of British Columbia Sauder School researchers Maurice Levi, Kai, Li, and Feng Zhang made surprising discoveries about the way that male CEOs testosterone levels affects their business judgment. They also discovered that having women on a company's board can improve the way a company conducts mergers and acquisitions. Hear Maurice Levi talk about the team's Management Science study in this unusual exploration into physiology's impact on the business world.

Fri, 8 Oct 2010 13:00:00 EST

How can online merchants learn more about their potential customers by mining the data surrounding social media – without violating strict privacy rules? Claudia Perlich of Media6Degrees explains how she and her colleagues zero in on individual customers in projects that have benefited Netflix, IBM, and healthcare providers.

Fri, 22 Oct 2010 13:00:00 EST

What will the 2010 midterm elections mean for Congressional Democrats? And why won't their loss of seats sink the hopes of President Obama for a second term? History Professor Allan Lichtman of American University explains what his model, The Keys to the White House, forecasts for 2012 and why the surprisingly uphill battle will be for Republican presidential hopefuls.

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 13:00:00 EST

Business Intelligence (BI) is becoming an increasingly important method of capitalizing on the data that most businesses and organizations now store. Bill Hostmann, a Vice President and Distinguished Analyst at Gartner, provides a sophisticated approach to making BI a core competency.

Fri, 19 Nov 2010 13:00:00 EST

Demand on America's electric power grid will be affected by everything from a projected increase in electric cars to new policies reducing the carbon footprint. Two things are for certain: One, that providing energy will be very different in just a few short years. And two, that quantitative experts are needed to plan for change. Hear Joan Woodard, Executive Vice President Emeritus at Sandia National Labs, elaborate on her INFORMS Annual Meeting Plenary in this look at energy's future.

Fri, 02 Dec 2010 13:00:00 EST

Can analytics help an HR department hire and retain top staff? You bet, says Jeanne G. Harris of Accenture. Hear the co-author of Competing on Analytics and the new Analytics at Work explain how to put the right metrics in place and improve your workforce.

Fri, 17 Dec 2010 13:00:00 EST

What does the downturn in the global economy mean for companies that must plan complex operations and supply chain management in the face of volatile oil prices, diminished consumer demand, and pressures on businesses to go green? MIT's David Simchi-Levi, Editor-in-Chief of the INFORMS journal Operations Research, provides rules that are as tightly constructed as the laws of physics in his new book, Operations Rules. Listen to his essential advice for business executives.

Fri, 14 Jan 2011 13:00:00 EST

J. Eric Bickel of the University of Texas collaborated with the controversial filmmaker Bjorn Lomborg on his documentary, Cool It, which has generated debate among students of global warming. In a chapter in Lomborg's new volume, Smart Solutions to Climate Change, Bickel examines the most promising technologies for slowing climate change.

Tue, 14 Feb 2011 13:00:00 EST

IBM's Deep Blue proved its mettle playing chess against human grandmasters. But could the numbers crunchers at the IBM Watson Center create a program that would allow a computer to play in a free format question-and-answer game show? Stephen Baker, the former BusinessWeek reporter and author of the 2009 book The Numerati explains the story behind the February, 2011 contest on the popular television series Jeopardy. Hear the author of the new Final Jeopardy: Man vs. Machine and the Quest to Know Everything.

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 13:00:00 EST

In troubled economic times, business leaders can take two approaches to their assets: they can take out the budget knife, resulting in temporary savings and long-term damage to their companies; or they can ask themselves how they can optimize, making what’s good about their organizations even better. Princeton Consultants' Steve Sashihara, author of the new title The Optimization Edge, provides management and C-level executives with strong advice on how to succeed at optimization projects in this revealing interview.

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 13:00:00 EST

In the U.S. every spring, sports fans are possessed with a condition called March Madness as the top basketball teams in the country compete in a tournament to determine the champion team of the year. Throughout American workplaces, employees have their own competition in the form of office pools. Hear two experts in the math of sports provide their special forecasts. Georgia Tech's Professor Joel Sokol Joel Sokol has his March Madness website here. University of Illinois Professor Sheldon Jacobson Sheldon Jacobson's March Madness website is here .

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 13:00:00 EST

Thornton May has made his reputation in the IT world – he is a ComputerWorld columnist and serves as Executive Director of the IT Leadership Academy – but he's a man who knows value when he sees it. The author of "The New Know: Analytics, Innovation, and Transformation" will do a guest tour of a high level panel on analytics at the INFORMS Conference on Business Analytics and Operations Research in Chicago.

Wed, 6 Apr 2011 13:00:00 EST

With states cutting budgets and forcing localities to make painful decisions, operations researcher Kenneth Chelst of Wayne State University discusses his 2011 INFORMS Business Analytics and Operations Research Conference lecture, Analytics to Help Rationalize Police, Fire, and Emergency Medical Services. Hear Prof. Chelst's controversial recommendations about making cuts without sacrificing lives.

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 13:00:00 EST

In the weeks before the INFORMS Analytics conference, ComputerWorld columnist Thornton May podcast some hints on how he would interact with his panelists. Hear him after the fireworks on the surprising insights from FICO's Larry Rosenberg, Gartner VP Bill Hostmann, Sirius XM Radio's Kaiser Fung, and Scott Friesen of Best Buy.

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 13:00:00 EST

Carnegie Mellon's Jonathan Caulkins, the leading math modeler specializing in drug trafficking, recounts what he learned about stopping drug use from the coca fields of Columbia, the collapsed drug trade of Australia, and the models of legendary marketing scientist Frank Bass. Hear his observations - and his proposals for reducing drug use - in this interview on a problem that has plagued the Western World for generations.

Fri, 13 May 2011 13:00:00 EST

In an article in Analytics Magazine, Ryan M. Rodenberg and Anastasios Kaburakis explain how cases involving the NFL, the NCAA, and NASCAR are making legal headlines. In this accompanying podcast, hear them explain how analytics is playing an increasingly important role in sports law. And listen to special advice for operations researchers on becoming expert witnesses.

Fri, 27 May 2011 13:00:00 EST

With 80,000 Americans awaiting kidney transplants on any given day, the sad fact is that many people with renal disease will wait years and some will die before a suitable kidney becomes available. A new system for scheduling a fleet of airplanes to fly recipients to cities with available organs may substantially reduce that waiting time. Hear Sridhar Tayur of Carnegie Mellon University and physician Anton Skaro of Northwestern University preview the paper that co-author Baris Ata will present at INFORMS Healthcare 2011, which takes places in Montreal from June 20-22.

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 13:00:00 EST

When you go online to research the doctor who will treat you for cancer or perform your surgery, how sure are you that the ratings you're reading are true? Hear controversial research by the University of Maryland's Ritu Agarwal, Guodong (Gordon) Gao, and Brad N. Greenwood, who, together with Jeffrey McCullough of the University of Minnesota, present their paper at INFORMS Healthcare 2011, which takes place in Montreal this June.

Fri, 22 Jun 2011 13:00:00 EST

With President Obama declaring a troop drawdown in Afghanistan and counterinsurgency efforts there coming under question, a Defense Department report issued earlier this year sheds welcome light. In April, the Defense Science Board this year issued a peering report into ways that the intelligence community can improve its efforts. The report follows a 2009 report by the board recommending that the Department of Defense make better use of O.R. in intelligence. Hear the co-chairman of the task force that wrote both reports explain their importance.

Thu, 7 Jul 2011 13:00:00 EST

The Facebook experience suggests that hundreds of millions of online social media users worldwide have thrown their privacy to the wind. But would consumers, when presented with the choice, opt to pay more to ensure their privacy during online transactions? In their new study in the INFORMS Journal Information Systems Research, Carnegie Mellon's Alessandro Acquisti and colleagues conducted an intriguing experiment that found an unexpected willingness to pay for online privacy. Listen to Prof. Acquisti discuss the results and the unusual experiment that led to these conclusions.

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 13:00:00 EST

Can the same applications that speed a manufacturer's supply chain also improve disaster relief? Returning guests Pinar Keskinocak and Julie Swann, who co-direct the Center for Health and Humanitarian Logistics at the Georgia Institute of Technology with Ozlem Ergun, provide a sweeping picture of how operations research provides vast humanitarian benefits. The current issue of the INFORMS journal Interfaces, which they edited, includes a refreshing range of humanitarian apps. Hear their discussion of the special issue, including a profile of Prof. Keskinocak's teamwork for CARE International.

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 13:00:00 EST

Overconfidence can lead CEOs to make bad investment decisions or, worse, choices that leave them squirming in testimony before Parliament. But it can also be their saving grace. The current issue of Management Science includes a revealing study about the positive impact of CEO overconfidence on corporate innovation. Hear the authors, Alberto Galasso of the University of Toronto and Timothy Simcoe Timothy Coe of Boston University, explain their surprising results.

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 13:00:00 EST

Our emergency rooms have become an alarming example of the physical dangers that can arise from congestion. In an article in the current issue of ORMS Today, Doug Samuelson of InfoLogix, together with emergency care physician Dr. David Eitel of the Wellspan Health System, examines the problems in today's ER's and the creative ways that operations researchers are offering solutions. Hear Doug, who last podcast on the American election system, provide his overview.

Fri, 2 Sep 2011 13:00:00 EST

Picture yourself staring at the screen as your brand X online search for a flight goes on and on. Now look at a travel service like Kayak that explains how the system is checking one airline and one flight after another. Where would you rather search? Would you even be willing to wait slightly longer if you felt you had a window into what was going on as you waited? In the September issue of Management Science, doctoral student Ryan W. Buell and Assoc. Prof. Michael I. Norton of Harvard Business School explore the tradeoffs of the way you wait on the Internet. No reason to wait – hear them explain their research in this week's podcast.

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 13:00:00 EST

As columnist Vijay Mehrotra explains in the current issue of Analytics Magazine, something has been going right in the city of Raleigh since 2006. Yet if analytics is a household word today, it wasn't five years ago. Michael Rappa, Director of the Institute for Analytics at North Carolina State University, tells how his program began a trend and how it now places 90% of its graduates as the field of analytics flourishes

Fri, 06 Oct 2011 13:00:00 EST

What can discoveries about the human brain teach forecasters, computer scientists, and corporate executives? And why is hockey legend Wayne Gretsky the perfect example of these teachings? Former USA Today reporter Kevin Maney, who wrote a popular article about algorithms in the 1990s, discusses The Two-Second-Advantage: How We Succeed by Anticipating the Future—Just Enough, the new title he wrote with Vivek Ranadivé.

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 13:00:00 EST

In the post-Osama bin Laden age, the U.S. and nations around the world still face the danger of terrorism in many forms. One threat is terrorists smuggling nuclear material through ports and across borders to assemble a nuclear weapon for a domestic attack. At the 2011 INFORMS annual meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina in November, Prof. Gaukler and colleagues present a paper on O.R. methods used to fight this threat. Prof. Gaukler previews his research in this podcast.

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 13:00:00 EST

Professor Laura McLay of Virginia Commonwealth University is a trend setter with her blog Punk Rock Operations Research. Hear her talk about the importance of social media; applying O.R. to healthcare topics like emergency care in extreme weather; why the Chicago Bears are the best football team ever; and her roles as an operations researcher, woman, and mother.

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 13:00:00 EST

Foreclosures have devastated neighborhoods, and not just those in inner cities. How can a community development corporation compete with private realtors to acquire a core of foreclosed properties and rehabilitate them in an effort to save a neighborhood? Michael P. Johnson of the University of Massachusetts Boston, author of Community-Based Operations Research and Chair of the INFORMS Section INFORMS Section on Public Programs, Service, and Needs, explains how math modelers help small groups with limited resources do a lot of good.

Fri, 6 Jan 2012 13:00:00 EST

What do quantum theory, Schopenhauer, Goethe, and Spinoza have to teach us about the economic disaster of 2007-8? Quite a bit, maintains Emanuel Derman of Columbia University's Industrial Engineering and Operations Research Department. Hear him discuss his new book, Models Behaving Badly: Why Confusing Illusion with Reality Can Lead to Disaster, on Wall Street and in Life.

Fri, 19 Jan 2012 13:00:00 EST

A physician may not have more than 15 minutes to discuss your most pressing health issues. So what do you do when you get home and need to make serious choices? Stanford University Professor Stefanos Zenios, the new Editor-in-Chief of the INFORMS journal Operations Research, took a leave of absence to develop a website devoted to patients with kidney disease and other ailments. Listen to him and Dr. Constantia Petrou as they discuss www.konnectology.com, the decision-making website they created for patients with funding from the National Institutes of Health.

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:00:00 EST

Whether you call it the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare, the law enacted in 2010 has generated strong debate about healthcare in America and the need to balance volume (healthcare providers billing by the number of services provided) with value (a results-based approach tying payment to better health). In this podcast, Atanu Basu, the founder and CEO of analytics software company Ayata, discusses an article on the special role of analytics in healthcare that he co-wrote with Pete Horner in the current, special