INFORMS Releases

BALTIMORE, MD, February 14, 2023 – New audio is available for media use featuring Nickolas Freeman. He is an Assistant Professor of Operations Management at the Culverhouse College of Business Department of Information Systems, Statistics, and Management Science at the University of Alabama. He kicks off our series this month on trafficking. Freeman focuses on human trafficking and the internet. This content is provided by INFORMS, the largest association for the decision and data sciences. What follows are four questions and responses. These responses were provided on February 13, 2023.

BALTIMORE, MD, February 13, 2023 – Two INFORMS members have been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). Donald Goldfarb is an Alexander and Hermine Avanessians Professor of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at Columbia University and David Simchi-Levi is a Professor of Engineering Systems and core faculty in the Institute of Data, Systems and Society at Massachusetts Institute for Technology.

BALTIMORE, MD, February 9, 2023 – According to a new study, changing the response plans for fire and emergency service personnel is proving to have top-dollar savings. New research in the INFORMS journal Manufacturing & Service Operations Management finds that pooling resources to have cross-trained fire-medics respond to both emergency medical calls and fire incidents, rather than having firefighters respond to fires and emergency medical personnel respond to medical incidents, can save more than $3 million a year.

BALTIMORE, MD, February 8, 2023 – Concerns are mounting among policymakers and utility companies amid the impact of severe weather on the nation’s electrical grids. In recent months, electrical grids in Texas have been tested to the point of near failure. So it seems like perfect timing that new research in the INFORMS journal Management Science identifies a new method that provides the best way to utilize “direct load control contracts” to mitigate electricity demand surges, increase grid reliability and reduce electricity cost. All of this right down to the individual household.

BALTIMORE, MD, February 3, 2023 – A study published in a recent issue of INFORMS journal Marketing Science has found evidence of a questionable practice that tricks consumers into thinking they are getting a discount when they are actually paying more.