Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences

Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science Northwestern University fall 2012

McCormick Welcomes Master of Science in Analytics Students fter years of vision and planning by IEMS faculty and staff, McCormick welcomed an outstanding Ainaugural class of Master of Science in Analytics (MSiA) students with a launch party on September 26.

Thirty-two highly qualified McCormick Dean Julio M. Ottino students enrolled in the MSiA pro- gave welcoming remarks during the gram, a unique analytics program event in the Ford Motor Company housed in the Department of Indus- Engineering Design Center. trial Engineering and Management “The distinguishing feature of Sciences. Organizers originally the 21st century is data, data, and planned to start slowly, enrolling more data,” Ottino said. “But more just 15 students in the first year, data doesn’t necessarily translate to but they were so impressed by the more knowledge. You have to make caliber of the applicants that they the data speak, and that’s why I’m accepted the program’s full capacity. excited about this program.” A featured guest at the MSiA As more businesses have begun launch party was Brenda Dietrich, an looking to big data to study their IBM fellow and vice president and customer base and optimize process- Above, from left to right, chief technology officer for business es, the marketplace has experienced MSiA Program Director analytics in the IBM Software Group. an overwhelming demand for ana- Diego Klabjan, IBM’s Brenda Dietrich, and lytics experts. McCormick’s MSiA McCormick Dean Julio M. program will provide that expertise, Ottino. Below and at left, teaching students to identify students in the inaugural patterns and trends; interpret and MSiA class enjoy a gain insight from vast quantities reception following their program’s launch party of data; and communicate their on September 26. findings in practical, useful terms. “We conceived this program because we recognized that there aren’t enough trained individuals in this rapidly growing field,” said Diego Klabjan, professor of indus- trial engineering and management “The distinguishing feature of the 21st century is data, sciences and director of the MSiA Inside this issue program. “This is a top-notch, elite data, and more data, but more data doesn’t necessarily Letter from the Chair 2 program, and we have a talented translate to more knowledge. You have to make the data Department News 3 and enthusiastic group of students speak, and that’s why I’m excited about this program.” Letter from the Assistant Chair 4 Dean Julio M. Ottino Faculty Profile: Charles Thompson 5 to work with.” Engineering Medicine 8-9 Students in the inaugural Student Profile: Aaron Lucas 12 MSiA class have work experience Follow us: ranging from investment banking http://www.facebook.com/NUIEMS to business analysis to information technology and hold degrees from continued on page 11 2012-13 Academic Year

Letter from the Chair 2011-12 Gifts to the Department hen I joined IEMS in business plan anticipated find- the summer of 1995, we ing only 15 qualified students the IEMS is extremely grateful for the W thought a lot about the first year, ramping up slowly to a generous donations we continue to receive from our private and economics of engineering, but noth- target of 30 per year in steady state. corporate donors. Below is a list of Diego ing about “financial engineering.” No Instead, Program Director contributions received from September one put the two words “humanitar- Klabjan welcomed an incoming 1, 2011, through August 31, 2012. ian” and “logistics” together, nor had class of over 30 exceptional students Each dollar is used to support the anyone ever heard of “analytics.” And this fall who were selected from a academic, administrative, and “ operations” was a dead large, diverse, and deep applicant research endeavors of our department. field for industrial engineers. Today pool. Complete information about Please accept this acknowledgment as our deepest appreciation. each of these is a core teaching and MSiA is at www.analytics.north- research area for IEMS with very western.edu. Up to $99 high levels of activity. Things change, Our nation’s desire for more Ms. Cristina Lynn Alfonso Ms. Trisha Bakshi and great universities evolve. personalized and proactive medical Mr. Tyler Ethan Davidov Recently former IEMS financial treatment, elimination of mistakes, Mr. Adam David Evans engineering PhD student Liming and effective health care policy, IEMS Chair Barry L. Nelson Mr. Zexi Jimmy Fang Feng received promotion and tenure all in the face of significant cost Mr. Frank J. Jiruska at the University of Illinois, which is a constraints, has energized the field workshop for IEMS students. Last Ms. Natalie Grace Murray good benchmark for the maturity of of health care engineering like never year’s topic, “Making the Most of Mr. Chan Moon Park our financial engineering program. before. IEMS has had a teaching and Your Engineering Degree: A Frank Dr. John S. Rose and Mrs. Barbara Rose Ms. Gail E. Webb We have a suite of well-attended research presence in health care for Discussion with IEMS Alumni from classes at the undergraduate and some time, but this fall the McCor- Diverse Professional Backgrounds,” $100 - $499 graduate levels, and our students ob- mick School of Engineering and the included presentations and a panel Miss Vidya Rao Battu Mr. Elmer C. De La Cruz Tom Brody tain jobs in the financial industry and Feinberg School of Medicine will discussion by Craig, , Gerald Morton Hoffman, PhD academia. Pricing is still a core topic, announce the formation of a major Shail Godambe, Sania Irwin, Ms. Saba T Jaffery but risk measurement and manage- new center for health care engineer- Saba Jaffrey, Rajesh Oza, Ken Daniel L. Kegan, PhD ment have emerged as being equally ing research with Professor Sanjay Porrello, and Professor Bill White. Ms. Eva M. McGoey important. Find out more about all Mehrotra as co-director. To support This well-attended event did a won- Network for Good our financial engineering activities at this endeavor, IEMS will be searching derful job of showcasing the plethora Dr. Rajeshkumar C. Oza and Ms. Mangla R. Oza fe.mccormick.northwestern.edu. for a new faculty member to start in of career paths open to industrial Mr. Jim Roth and Ms. Kathryn A. Roth Our research efforts in humani- fall 2013 (see job announcement on engineers. Mr. Bart M. Wenstrom tarian logistics are now gaining trac- page 11). You will find a full listing of Mr. Jeffrey D. Wilen tion and recognition. For instance, I have always been proud of our honors and awards on page 3, but $500 - $999 last November Associate Professor leadership roles at Northwestern. a few milestones deserve special Barbara Grabowski Ozog, PhD Karen Smilowitz was part of an New positions include Associate Pro- mention. Our U.S. News & World Mrs. Hina T. Jaffery elite panel on “Social Media in Emer- fessor Bruce Ankenman becom- Report rankings improved to third Mr. Donald E. Rome gency Management: Transforming ing co-director of McCormick’s Segal at the graduate level and seventh $1,000 - $4,999 the Response Enterprise” at the Design Institute—the center of grav- at the undergraduate level. Paul Mr. A. Craig Asher Woodrow Wilson International Cen- ity for design activities throughout Leonardi was promoted to associate Mr. Farhad Aspy Fatakia ter for Scholars in Washington, D.C. Northwestern—and Senior Lecturer professor with tenure, and Diego was Dr. Jeffrey Richard Lefebvre and You can view an archive of the web- Mark Werwath joining the IEMS promoted to full professor. Paul was Ms. Julie A. Lefebvre cast on our Humanitarian Logistics faculty full time as director of our also appointed to the Pentair-Nugent Dr. Joseph S. Martinich Dr. George L. Nemhauser and website, hl.mccormick.northwestern. Master of Engineering Management Professorship in Manufacturing and Mrs. Ellen Nemhauser edu. It is well worth your time. program and associate director of Irina Dolinskaya was awarded the Prisim Business War Games Inc. The demand for analytics the Farley Center for Entrepreneur- William A. Patterson Junior Profes- Dr. Vicki L. Sauter professionals, and our own belief that ship and Innovation, which Mike sorship in Transportation. Finally, we The Schwab Fund for Charitable Giving operations research and analytics Marasco directs. reluctantly accepted the retirement of $5,000 - $9,999 form a perfect marriage, has led to I have been very fortunate Professor Bob Fourer after 33 years LogicBlox, Inc the creation of our newest program, to work with a creative and active in IEMS. My retirement address Prosoft Software, Inc. the Master of Science in Analytics Alumni Advisory Board, led by (roast?) can be found on page 10. $10,000+ Craig Asher (MSiA). We designed MSiA to be Board President . Barry L. Nelson Eco Green Analytics a highly selective program, so our Among the many things they do Walter P. Murphy Professor and Chair IBM Corporation for us is hosting an annual spring KISTEP Dr. Diego Klabjan We Energies 2 2012-13 Academic Year

Faculty and Student Awards PhD graduates Hai Lan and Department News Bruce Ankenman received the Jonathan Turner were co- 2012 Charles Deering McCormick recipients of the 4th George L. Professor of Teaching Excellence Nemhauser Dissertation Prize. Award, an honor that recognizes fac- Bill (Chan Seng) Pun received ulty across Northwestern for superior the Outstanding Teaching Assistant classroom teaching abilities. Award for the 2011-12 academic year. Irina First-year PhD students Likuan Qin Dolinskaya has and Aaron Schecter received, been appointed to respectively, the IEMS Financial En- the William A. gineering PhD Award and the Harold Patterson Junior Richards Graduate Fellowship in the Chair in Transporta- area of organizational theory and tion for 2012-2015. systems analysis. Bob (“Fantastic”) Fourer Dr. Margaret Brandeau of Stanford University presents IEMS’s first Wasserstrom has First-year PhD student Samuel Family Distinguished Lecture Series on May 1. been awarded the 2012 INFORMS Ellis received both a National Impact Prize for his work in algebraic Wasserstrom Family Distinguished Lecture Series Launched Consortium for Graduate Degrees modeling languages. Dr. Margaret Brandeau of Stanford University launched IEMS’s Wasser- for Minorities in Engineering and strom Family Distinguished Lecture Series on May 1 with her talk, “Opera- Paul Leonardi Science (GEM) Fellowship and Na- tions Research and Public Health: A Little Help Can Go a Long Way.” The has been appointed tional Science Foundation Graduate talk was co-sponsored by the Segal Design Institute and discussed examples to the Pentair- Research Fellowship. of model-based analysis of public health policy questions. This new lecture Nugent Professorship Five undergraduate students received series was made possible through a generous endowment from the Was- in Manufacturing Academic Excellence Awards in the serstrom family. for 2012-2015. 2011-12 academic year: Yingnan Leonardi also received the Young Faculty Receives Sponsored Awards Nancy Xu, Chengchun Thomas Scholar Award from the International IEMS received a number of new sponsored awards. Noshir Contractor Gao, Alexander Huang, Max- Communication Association and the received two awards from the National Science Foundation (NSF): “RAPID: ime Ollivier, and Julie Sharp. Ascendant Scholar Award from the Collaborative Research: 3dWomen: Exploring Three Decades of Women’s Western Academy of Management. Undergraduate student Yingnan Groups in Sustainable Development and the Impact of Social Media on He also garnered the Article of the Nancy Xu was awarded the Arthur Women’s Professional Networks” and “Collaborative Research: FLASH! Fu- Year Award from the Organizational P. Hurter Award for Outstanding eling Learning Alliances in Sustainability for Higher Education Using Social Communication Division of the Na- Industrial Engineering and Manage- Media to Create Knowledge Networks in Sustainability.” He also received the tional Communication Association, ment Sciences Graduating Senior at National Center for Research Resources award for “CTSA Social Network and the Best Published Paper Award the Senior Ceremony in June. Analysis: Legacy Resources, Research, and Training.” and Best Conference Paper Award Eight undergraduate students were Diego Klabjan received an NSF award for his project “GOALI: Portfo- from the Organizational Communica- chosen by IEMS faculty to receive lio of Renewable Energy Generation.” Sanjay Mehrotra received an award tion and Information Systems Divi- the Charles Thompson Senior from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality titled “Geographic sion of the Academy of Management. Design Award for best team project: Inequities in Kidney Transplantation: Investigating Possible Solutions” and Alexander Huang, Alex Ma, a second from for Naval Research titled “Algorithms for Mixed Barry Nelson delivered the Omega Sara Schmidt, Yingnan Nancy Integer and Stochastic Optimization.” Rho Distinguished Lecture at the Xu, Brandon Zhang, Svetlana Two awards were also received through IEMS’s Optimization Tech- annual meeting of the Institute for Fedorikhina, Molly Hennessy, nology Center. NSF awarded Jorge Nocedal for “Collaborative Research: Operations Research and the Man- and Andie Schroeder. Methods for Stochastic and Nonlinear Optimization” and Andreas Wächter agement Sciences. for “Novel Algorithms for Nonlinear Optimization.” Jorge Nocedal has received the Undergraduate student Adam Evans Mark Werwath Named Director of MEM Program 2012 SIAM Dantzig Prize, a prize was selected by IEMS students to receive the Senior In July IEMS hired Mark Werwath as a clinical associ- awarded every three years to recog- Leadership Award. ate professor and director of the Master of Engineering nize outstanding original research in Management (MEM) program, IEMS’s master’s program mathematical optimization. Seniors Noah Kimmel and Ji Hun for working engineering professionals. Werwath — an Ajit Tamhane has been selected Lee received the IEMS Depart- MEM graduate himself — brings a rich background of to receive the Distinguished Service ment Awards. The award recognizes project/process management and 25 years of new product Award for 2011 from IIT Bombay. excellence in academics, leadership, development experience to the classroom. In addition to his directorship or other contributions to the depart- PhD student Luis de la Torre was role, Werwath will teach IEMS 325 Engineering Entrepreneurship, IEMS ment as nominated by the faculty. named the 2011 Student of the Year 393 Industrial Engineering Design Project, IEMS 426 Project Management, by the Center for Commercializa- and IEMS 490 Management of Technology. tion of Innovative Transportation 3 Technology. 2012-13 Academic Year

Letter from the Assistant Chair Faculty Publications am one of the lucky ones. In an economy in which then brought new changes to the so many people are working jobs simply because they technology. Each imbrication of the need a paycheck, I am privileged to have a job that social and the material obscured I the actors’ previous choices, making I truly love. I get to spend my days with the students I the resulting technological and am passionate about helping, dreaming up ideas that I organizational structures appear am passionate about implementing. Even better, I work as if they were inevitable. Leonardi with world-class faculty who are equally passionate suggests that treating organizing as a about providing a quality undergraduate experience for process of socio-material imbrication Northwestern students and about preparing them for allows us to recognize and act twenty-first century careers. on the flexibility of information technologies and to create more Much of last year (my first year) at effective work organizations. Northwestern was spent orienting Car Crashes without Cars: myself—understanding how IEMS, Lessons about Simulation Foundations and Methods McCormick, and Northwestern Technology and of Stochastic Simulation: function—and identifying areas Organizational Change A First Course for improvement. Because I from Automotive Design by Barry L. Nelson follow undergraduate chairs who by Paul Leonardi Developed for the IEMS 435 have invested a great deal of time Every workday we wrestle with course, Foundations and Methods in developing a high-quality cumbersome and unintuitive of Stochastic Simulation is a first curriculum, most of the changes technologies. Our response is course in computer simulation for implemented in my first year usually, “That’s just the way it is.” PhD students. The book found amounted to low-level process Even technology designers and its genesis when Dr. Nelson and improvements, such as standardizing workplace managers believe that a student created a homegrown advising sign-up and formalizing Assistant Chair Jill Hardin Wilson certain technological changes are code to address a modeling and waitlist requests. Beyond that, I inevitable and that they will bring simulation problem. In its final spent a great deal of time listening Industrial Engineers (IIE) chapter; specific, unavoidable organizational state, the book covers modeling, to students and trying to understand and to develop student networks by changes. In this book, Paul programing, experiment design and what is and is not working well from connecting them with IEMS alumni. Leonardi offers a new conceptual the underlying mathematical theory their perspective. Leading the charge is a dynamic framework for understanding why of simulation. One of the resounding group of new officers for our student technologies and organizations The objectives of the book are: messages that I have heard from IIE chapter. They are passionate change as they do and why people • To prepare students who have students is that they desire to about this vision of community and think those changes had to never had a discrete-event, be part of an IEMS community. have already been brainstorming occur as they did. He argues that stochastic simulation course to Beyond just being part of the same ideas for building it. technologies and the organizations build simulations in a lower-level department or taking a few classes Building a stronger community in which they are developed and programming language. together, they want to be part of in which students feel they can used are not separate entities; • To prepare students to use something bigger and join together readily share their ideas is a good rather, they are made up of the simulation in their non-simulation to contribute to their department, place to start. I look forward to a same building blocks: social research. their school, their university, and second year with IEMS, during agency and material agency. Over • To prepare students to go into their community. So this will be my which I can watch our students time, social agency and material an advanced course on simulation mission in the coming academic grow, our community benefit, and agency become imbricated — methodology, including independent year: to foster deeper connections our department mission strengthen. gradually interlocked — in ways studies directed by their advisers. between students and faculty by Jill Wilson that produce some changes we call • To provide a solid mathematical/ encouraging and nurturing more Assistant Department Chair for “technological” and others we call statistical grounding in simulation, meaningful advising relationships; Undergraduate Studies “organizational.” and some (but not all) tools to solve to build community among students Drawing on a detailed field actual problems. by growing our student Institute of study of engineers at a U.S. auto The book will be published by company, Leonardi shows that as Springer-Verlag in January 2013. the engineers developed and used Software supporting the book is a new computer-based simulation provided in VBA, Java, and Matlab. technology for automotive design, A distinguishing feature is a chapter they chose to change how their on using simulation in research. work was organized, which 4 2012-13 Academic Year

Charles Thompson: A Vernacular Version of Vita

harles W. N. Thompson’s curriculum vitae is one you might expect from a respected engineer/attorney/consultant whose career Cspans nearly seven decades. The 28-page resume documents a diverse education — law degree from Harvard, MBA from Ohio State, and PhD from Northwestern — and a varied career, from Air Force engineer to business consultant to a 40-plus-year professorship in McCormick’s Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences. Then there’s Thompson’s “Vernacular Version of Vita,” a one-page summary he wrote to highlight his less highfalutin accomplishments. “Got kicked out of kindergarten,” begins. Thompson takes great pride in relaying the rabble-rousing tales of his youth — and the rabble-rousing tales of his adulthood. He says he was wrongfully kicked out of college in the early ’40s for lighting a fire in a dorm room; school officials let him back in when his classmates signed a petition Charles Thompson on his behalf. (He maintains that he didn’t start , though he admits to several other indiscretions in his early adulthood.) After serving in World After 12 years working in industry, Thompson moved on to academia. War II he attended graduate school, where, he says, he “majored in gin He received his PhD from Northwestern and accepted a faculty position rummy, bridge, and poker.” His professional life sounds equally intriguing: shortly thereafter. But the McCormick that Thompson joined in the 1960s he worked as a spy and as a criminal attorney before starting an illustrious bears little resemblance to the McCormick of today. Notably, he says, career in engineering. women were scarce among both faculty and PhD students, something that Then again, it’s hard to know what to believe. was characteristic of the time but troubling to Thompson. He says he has “I’m a storyteller,” says Thompson. worked to improve those numbers. Throughout his career, nearly half his Luckily, Thompson’s engineering skills are well documented. From PhD candidates have been women; at one point, he says, a National Science his early childhood Thompson was expected to become a lawyer — “I was Foundation researcher said he was among the top engineering professors in scheduled to go to law school when I was three years of age,” he says — the country in terms of the number of female PhDs he had produced. Thompson’s contributions to his department have been noteworthy. “One of the advantages of being old is that a whole Barry Nelson, IEMS chair, calls Thompson a “pioneer” in “field research lot of people you know are dead. They can’t defend methods” — the process of improving organizations and systems by themselves.” Charles Thompson observing and surveying them, rather than running experiments on them. “How does one remain active and relevant over such a long career? but service in the Air Force during World War II put him on a new course to By doing many things, and also being willing to try something new,” says becoming an industrial engineer. After the war ended he graduated from law Nelson. “Charles has been a researcher; he has taught at all levels, from school, but he was recalled to active duty just a year later with the Strategic undergraduate to graduate to professional masters; he has continued Air Command, where he spent nearly two years as a strike team member. to develop new courses; and he has been active in the business of the It was the early 1950s, and World War II had sparked great organizational University.” advances in the fields of operations research, systems engineering, and Thompson continues to teach, even introducing new or radically counter-measures. Still, he and his team faced great inefficiencies and a changing courses; four years ago, he introduced Methods, Standards and serious lack of equipment. Work Design (IEMS 210) to teach students the foundations of the industrial “These aircrafts would land and instead of going to the taxi strip, they engineering practice. He is especially revered for his Systems Project would stop at the end of the runway,” Thompson recalls. “People would run Management course (IEMS 392), a class in which students apply project out, take the antennas off the plane, then run over to another plane and put management methods to a real-world system. Outside the classroom, he the antennas on so it could take off.” continues to serve as secretary at McCormick faculty meetings. And he These problems prompted General Curtis E. LeMay to send Thompson continues to relay stories, from the earliest days of the IEMS department and three other men to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, to the 1,000 hours he logged on an RB-36 strategic reconnaissance aircraft where they were charged with accelerating the procurement process. Once during the Korean War. his military commitment ended, Thompson stayed on as a civilian; in “One of the advantages of being old is that a whole lot of people you total, he remained at the base for six years and was promoted to the title of know are dead,” Thompson said, “They can’t defend themselves.” “section chief.” “I made major changes in system procurement,” recalls Thompson. “Some of my most important work was accomplished at Wright Field.”

5 2012-13 Academic Year

IEMS 2012 Graduation undreds of purple-robed undergraduate students, master’s students, and PhD candidates graduated from the McCormick School of Engineering Hon June 15 and 16 as part of a sunny and warm weekend of Commencement festivities. The graduation ceremonies began at Ryan Field Friday morning with Northwestern University’s 154th Commencement, which featured a speech by Paul Farmer, a physician, anthropologist, and Harvard professor known for his pioneering work in global health, particularly in Haiti.

In the 2011-12 academic year, IEMS graduated 12 PhD students: Kenan Arifoglu, Xi Chen, Steven Goldbeck, Jian Hu, Kuo-ling Huang, Neda Ebrahim Khanjari, Soonhui Lee, Lingfei Li, Linlin Li, Luis Chavez Bedoya Mercado, Yunpeng Sun, and Mengxiao Zhu. These graduates went on to academic and industry positions at places like Google, the University of Washington, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Johns Hopkins University.

6 2012-13 Academic Year

IEMS 2012 Senior Ceremony n June 15, nearly 100 IEMS undergraduate students and their families celebrated graduation at the IEMS 2012 Senior Ceremony. In tribute to Othe graduating class, the event highlighted special student awards and achievements, and provided time for students, faculty, and family to connect.

7 2012-13 Academic Year

Engineering Medicine: New Collaborations at the Boundaries of Discipline

long liver transplant waiting list, on the University’s Chicago campus. the United Network for Organ Headed by Daniela Ladner, assistant Sharing (UNOS), the national organ professor of surgery, the three- donation organization, has started year-old initiative aims to connect encouraging organ procurers to transplant clinicians with cutting- consider more of what physicians edge researchers in seemingly refer to as “donor after cardiac- disparate disciplines across death” (DCD) livers. campus. “If you want to find better “More donations has to be solutions, you have to collaborate,” better, right?” Hazen asks. “But is Ladner says. “Collaborating with it really better? What sense does professors like Gordon Hazen and it make to increase the number of Sanjay Mehrotra helps us answer low-quality organs procured if most pertinent questions in the field patients should decline them and of transplantation we couldn’t wait for a better organ?” otherwise answer. It will ultimately To explore the problem, Hazen Daniela Ladner, assistant professor of surgery at the Feinberg School of Medicine, help in our daily decision making and Gordon Hazen, professor of industrial engineering and management sciences, created mathematical models that for individual patients.” work together to make liver transplant decisions more efficient. take into account what happens While helping individual to patients on the liver transplant patients is, of course, a desirable magine you are one of the 16,000 people in the outcome, the United States waiting for a liver transplant. Unlike ultimate goal of Ithose on the kidney transplant list, you cannot the collaboration be treated with dialysis. Without a transplant your is to better inform survival time is limited. and change transplant policy Then a call comes: a liver 2010 more than 100 McCormick and to reduce death is available. But there’s a catch: Feinberg professors authored papers rates of those Because the deceased donor’s heart together, and new programs like on transplant could not be kept beating during mini sabbaticals—where McCormick waiting lists and organ extraction—a so-called professors spend a quarter at Feinberg improve decision cardiac death donation—the liver doing research—are inspiring new making. “I began has been deprived of oxygen for partnerships at all levels. working in this longer than is typical and may have Health Care Engineering area because I deteriorated. was interested Nowhere is the McCormick- Do you wait and take your IEMS Professor Sanjay Mehrotra became interested in the in decision Feinberg connection more apparent chances that you’ll receive a higher- health care field after several bad experiences in the system. analysis but also than in the Department of Industrial Along with former PhD student Jonathan Turner, he seeks quality liver? Or do you take the because I wanted Engineering and Management to make health care processes work better. cardiac-death liver? to do research Sciences, where faculty members It’s a problem with no easy waiting list, including patient in something grounded in reality,” such as Sanjay Mehrotra and answer—and it’s an example of the mortality and morbidity. Those Hazen says. “Hopefully my models Gordon Hazen are part of a new type of problem that professors models were used to predict what will help influence leaders and initiative in health care engineering from McCormick and the Feinberg would happen if the number of create change.” that aims to apply methods from School of Medicine are teaming up DCD livers available for transplant statistics, computer science, and to solve. From studying transplant increases or decreases. Hazen’s Learning the Language operations research to a variety of allocation to creating anatomy research showed that unless the liver of Medicine health care problems. models with sensors to developing patient is in critical need of a new While Ladner and her colleagues Take the liver decision new kinds of drug-delivery methods liver, it does not make sense to take a work with Hazen on risk prediction, problem—an issue Hazen, professor and prosthetics, faculty in the two DCD liver. they turn to Sanjay Mehrotra, of industrial engineering and schools are calling, e-mailing, and Hazen collaborates with professor of industrial engineering management sciences and an expert traveling across Chicago to create surgeons at the Northwestern and management sciences and on health care decision analysis, connections that will ultimately University Transplant Outcomes an optimization expert, for research has studied. In response to the improve all aspects of medicine. In Research Collaborative (NUTORC) on organ access and allocation 8 2012-13 Academic Year

In the course of researching the “Given the number of “Industrial engineers and operations researchers have problem, Davis spends much of her problems that need data-driven helped develop a large analytical toolkit over the last time at NUTORC being mentored engineering solutions, we can 50 years. Historically, we could not use these tools for by Ladner and other clinicians. engage students at every level,” health care problems because the data were not as She essentially went through a Mehrotra says. “Undergraduate widely available. That’s changing. We can use our tools mini–medical school boot camp to students get real-world experience to better manage hospital systems, improve policy, teach her how to think as both an when working on their projects, engineer and a clinician. “When you and the collaborations are leading and help make scientific discoveries.” have people who understand both to new sources of funding for Sanjay Mehrotra, professor of industrial engineering and management sciences disciplines, you can open entirely graduate students to work new areas of research,” on practical problems while Ladner says. developing new methodologies.” Mehrotra also realized he had to Health Care Engineering learn the language of beyond Graduation physicians after he One of those graduate students became interested in was Jonathan Turner. A student of the field a few years Mehrotra who received his PhD in ago following several May 2011, Turner spent six months bad experiences at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in the health care shadowing surgery residents and system. So he took collecting data for what would an undergraduate ultimately become the subject of organic chemistry his dissertation: improving surgery course. “I was education. concerned I wouldn’t Surgeons at the hospital survive the quarter,” noticed that surgical residents he says. “My lab gained varying amounts of partner was 30 years experience. Often, the first time younger than I. But they met a patient was in the I took every single operating room—hardly a typical throughout the United States. and most kidneys are distributed quiz, did every lab, and I survived. experience for a surgeon. “Residents Over the past few years he within the same geographic zone I learned the basic vocabulary.” spend only one or two months on has developed a half-dozen in which they are donated. As a He cast his net wide, looking vascular surgery rotation,” Turner collaborations with Feinberg result, there are major regional for collaborations, and word got says. “The time between diagnosis professors. inequalities in access to organs: around. He began working with and surgery is often three weeks. “I saw the value in this a person in one state might get Heron Rodriguez, a vascular Probability models showed the research,” he says. “None of us wants a kidney within a year, while surgeon, and Debra DaRosa, vice vascular surgeons that without some a systems failure that affects our someone in another state might chair of education, department of logistical changes, the odds that a health. Industrial engineers and wait up to four years. Many people surgery, on scheduling surgical resident would be able to see the operations researchers have helped die while waiting. “It violates the resident rotations. He also began a same patient for both diagnosis and develop a large analytical toolkit ‘Final Rule,’ a government mandate project with David Liebovitz, chief surgery were very small.” over the last 50 years. Historically, about organ equity,” Ladner says. medical informatics officer for the As a result of these findings, we could not use these tools for Mehrotra and Davis have created Northwestern Medical Faculty Turner created scheduling software health care problems because the a new politically viable kidney Foundation, considering how to that allows surgeons to match data were not as widely available. distribution model to promote best restrict unauthorized access to residents with patients. That means That’s changing. We can use our kidney sharing between regions. patient records. He is working with the resident is able to spend more tools to better manage hospital “We’re using industrial cardiologist Jeffrey J. Goldberger time with the patient from diagnosis systems, improve policy, and help engineering and operations and emergency medical physician to surgery to follow up and results make scientific discoveries.” research tools to fix this nationwide George Chiampas on better in a more realistic and valuable With NUTORC, Mehrotra and problem,” Mehrotra says. “Working risk assessment of patients with educational experience. Turner’s his graduate student Ashley Davis with the transplant community, cardiac conditions and on systems software has been piloted at the have studied kidney allocation. we are discovering structured, solutions that address the vexing hospital and an upgraded version is Nearly 90,000 people in the United implementable policy changes that problem of sudden death due to planned for the future. States are waiting for kidney will be acceptable to both leaders and cardiac arrest, which kills nearly continued on page 11 transplants. The country is divided the population at large.” 400,000 people every year in the into 11 regions managed by UNOS, United States. 9 2012-13 Academic Year

Bob Fourer Retirement Roast fter 33 years in the citations. The Department of Industrial foundation AEngineering and for research in Management Sciences, Professor this area was Robert (4er) Fourer has retired. Bob’s paper Below is Barry Nelson’s address at his “Modeling retirement party. Languages “We are gathered here today vs. Matrix to pay our respects at the passing of Generators our esteemed colleague, Robert ‘Bob’ Bob Fourer for Linear Fourer... oh, sorry, wrong speech. Programming” that appeared in “We are actually here to ACM Transactions on Mathematical celebrate Bob’s retirement. Software in 1983. “Bob received his bachelor’s in “Bob has received numerous math from MIT and an MS and PhD awards and distinctions during those from Stanford, where he was George 33 years: The Medallion Award from Dantzig’s student. In operations IIE in 2003 for being all around great

“Bob is quiet, low-key, and never draws attention to himself. And he travels a lot. So clearly he has something to hide. But what is it? Is Bob really a mild-mannered professor for a major metropolitan university? Or is he a strange visitor from another planet?” Barry L. Nelson

research you can’t get much closer at everything; Fellow of INFORMS to God than to have worked with in 2004 (a year in which three NU George Dantzig. IEMS faculty were inducted); and he “Bob spent his entire career here just won the best paper award from at Northwestern, 33 years. He was Computational Management Science department chair from 1989 to 1995, for “DrAmpl: A Meta Solver for and I like to think his most satisfying Optimization Analysis,” which shows accomplishment was hiring me. that he has not been taking it easy. “Bob is best known for AMPL, “Those are the public facts. But his algebraic modeling language for what do we really know about Bob SUPERHERO MUSIC] Just think “But what is the connection? Just mathematical programming. The Fourer, the man? I asked people for about all of the people AMPL a week ago we got a break-through. idea behind algebraic modeling juicy stories about Bob. Art [Hurter] has saved from suboptimality: A Our extensive research found a languages is to separate the said he was pretty sure Bob has never restaurant owner needs a nutritious crumpled comic book cover stuck formulation of an optimization worn at tie. That was about all I diet at minimum cost—AMPL is in a first edition of Dantzig’s Linear problem from the solution method could find. there; a refiner wants optimally Programming and Extensions buried applied to it. This removes barriers “Bob is quiet, low-key, and blended gasoline—AMPL to the deep in the bowels of Stanford’s to formulation and implementation, never draws attention to himself. rescue; an auto manufacturer has to library. We have blown it up to poster reveals structure, and allows you to And he travels a lot. So clearly he has have minimum cost transportation size so that today we can reveal throw more than one solver at the something to hide. But what is it? of steel coils—AMPL turns up just in that our colleague is not just mild problem. Bob’s AMPL book with Gay “Is Bob really a mild-mannered time; and when a furniture maker has mannered Robert Fourer, he is in fact and Kernighan has gone through professor for a major metropolitan cutting stock that needs to be cut, it’s Suboptimality’s biggest foe... Fantastic two editions and has at least 2,000 university? Or is he a strange visitor AMPL once again. 4er.” —Barry L. Nelson from another planet? [CUE CHEESY

10 2012-13 Academic Year

MSiA Students, Engineering Medicine, continued continued institutions including Stanford “The software allows residents University, the University of to have a sense of patient ownership California Berkeley, and North- they didn’t have before,” Turner Applications Invited For a Faculty Position western. Most completed their says. “There is a story behind each undergraduate degrees in related patient. As care gets more and more We invite applications for one full-time, tenure-track faculty fields such as industrial engineer- fragmented, those stories get harder appointment at the assistant or associate professor level to begin ing, mathematics, and economics, and harder to see. We can help September 2013. Applicants should hold an earned Ph.D. or though backgrounds in physics and doctors meet that challenge through be near completion of their doctoral studies with demonstrated psychology are also represented. scheduling assistance.” research potential in health care engineering and strong The students range in age from Feinberg and Northwestern methodological background in industrial engineering, operations 22 to 48; one-third are women Memorial Hospital were so research or analytics. Industrial experience is desirable; a strong and one-third are international impressed with Turner’s work that commitment to rigorous and relevant research is essential. students. they hired him as the hospital’s Throughout the 15-month first health care engineer manager The Department offers an undergraduate program, a Ph.D. program, the students will be ex- for quality and innovation. “Our program, a full-time professional master’s degree in analytics posed to industry through multiple research goal is to leverage health and a part-time professional master’s degree in engineering management. Both the undergraduate and graduate programs channels, including a practicum, delivery science and raise the value have been consistently ranked among the top ten by US News internship, capstone project, and of health care delivery by improving & World Report. coursework. While other master’s process quality and patient outcomes programs tend to be focused on one while reducing cost,” he says. Applications must be submitted electronically to www.iems. aspect of analytics — such as model- Turner’s first projects involve northwestern.edu/career/. Materials to be uploaded include ing or data mining — McCormick’s finding ways to reduce handoffs a cover letter and a curriculum vitae detailing educational MSiA curriculum is more compre- of patients from doctor to doctor background, research and work experience. Applicants at the hensive, covering big data, unstruc- and reorganizing nurses’ charts to assistant professor level should also include a statement of their tured data, and data visualization. avoid redundancies. Mark Williams, current and future research program. Candidates should also “In 15 months you will speak professor and chief of hospital provide letters of recommendation from three references to be three languages,” Klabjan told the medicine, and Turner, working mailed or e-mailed directly to the address below. To receive full students at the launch party. “IT, with Mehrotra, have also proposed consideration, all materials should be received by December 31, science, and business.” a Northwestern University Center 2012, but earlier application is encouraged. The curriculum will be supple- for Value and Innovation in Health Chairman, Faculty Recruiting Committee mented with guest lectures from Care Delivery, which would further Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences influential analytics professionals. encourage McCormick-Feinberg Northwestern University Two lectures are scheduled for the connections. 2145 Sheridan Road, Room C210 fall quarter: Bill Franks, chief analyt- “I want to be a facilitator,” Evanston, IL 60208-3119 ics officer for Teradata, will speak Turner says. “I want to say, ‘Here is a [email protected] on November 1, and Janet Wejman, problem, and here is the best person former chief information officer for in McCormick to work on that.’ I can Northwestern University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer. Continental Airlines, will speak on distinguish whether a project might Women and minorities are encouraged to apply. Hiring is contingent upon eligibility to work in the United States. It is the policy of Northwestern University not to November 15. make a good dissertation or an ideal discriminate against any individual on the basis of race, color, religion, national For more information about undergraduate assignment. I plan origin, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, age, disability, citizenship, veteran the MSiA program and upcoming to make McCormick faculty aware status or other protected group status. events, visit http://www.analytics. of good research projects that are northwestern.edu. outside my skill set.” An added benefit is that the work of Turner and others isn’t just advancing the field of medicine, it’s also advancing the state of industrial engineering and operations research. “My ultimate hope is that these new methodologies will solve problems beyond health care,” Mehrotra says.

11 McCormick Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage Department of Industrial Engineering PAID and Management Sciences Northwestern University Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science Northwestern University Technological Institute 2145 Sheridan Road Evanston, Illinois 60208-3100

Editor: Sarah Ostman

Design: Amy Charlson Design

CDC guidelines are likely to be too too be to likely are guidelines CDC demographic. countries with highly endemic HIV HIV endemic highly with countries and economic think tank based in in based tank think economic and

States. His research found that the the that found research His States. monies in the pool that benefits their their benefits that pool the in monies behavior in sub-Saharan African African sub-Saharan in behavior with The Urban Institute, a social social a Institute, Urban The with

for HIV testing in the United United the in testing HIV for companies and placing more of their their of more placing and companies “month-off” from risky sexual sexual risky from “month-off” engineering stems from his work work his from stems engineering

the most recent CDC guidelines guidelines CDC recent most the more efficient structure within their their within structure efficient more intervention of an intermittent intermittent an of intervention Lucas’ interest in health care care health in interest Lucas’

second project dealt with evaluating evaluating with dealt project second nonprofits to help them create a a create them help to nonprofits project modeled a unique alternative alternative unique a modeled project among students. students. among

resulting research in July 2012. The The 2012. July in research resulting offering his services pro-bono to to pro-bono services his offering in three major projects. The first first The projects. major three in becoming more and more popular popular more and more becoming

published the the published Organization Health impact in policy change, while also also while change, policy in impact disease. His research has resulted resulted has research His disease. the national discourse, this area is is area this discourse, national the

Bulletin of the World World the of Bulletin The prevalence. where his modeling can have broad broad have can modeling his where control and prevention of infectious infectious of prevention and control with health care at the forefront of of forefront the at care health with

looking to move into a position position a into move to looking care engineering focused on the the on focused engineering care improving our health care system; system; care health our improving Aaron Lucas Aaron

After graduation, Lucas is is Lucas graduation, After Armbruster, his interest within health health within interest his Armbruster, and providing valuable insight into into insight valuable providing and

direction of HIV policy,” Lucas said. Lucas policy,” HIV of direction Under the guidance of Benjamin Benjamin of guidance the Under of illuminating health care problems problems care health illuminating of

in the debate surrounding the future future the surrounding debate the in graduate school at Northwestern. Northwestern. at school graduate industrial engineering are capable capable are engineering industrial

“I want to be a leading influence influence leading a be to want “I In 2009, Lucas entered entered Lucas 2009, In newsletter: the core principles of of principles core the newsletter:

of disease spread. spread. disease of Human Services. Services. Human a familiar refrain elsewhere in this this in elsewhere refrain familiar a

continuous time network simulations simulations network time continuous the U.S. Department of Health and and Health of Department U.S. the cross-breeding of degrees echoes echoes degrees of cross-breeding

the efficiency of discrete time versus versus time discrete of efficiency the and resulted in recommendations to to recommendations in resulted and in public health. This unusual unusual This health. public in

and most current project is exploring exploring is project current most and contributed to health reform policies policies reform health to contributed engineering and a master’s degree degree master’s a and engineering

to antiretroviral . His final final His initiation. antiretroviral to modeling and statistical work there there work statistical and modeling both a doctoral degree in industrial industrial in degree doctoral a both

marked reduction in viral load due due load viral in reduction marked research position at URBAN. His His URBAN. at position research four ambitious years in pursuit of of pursuit in years ambitious four

A

initiation of antiretrovirals and the the and antiretrovirals of initiation Vassar College, Aaron took a a took Aaron College, Vassar graduate in June 2013 after after 2013 June in graduate

recent recommendations for the the for recommendations recent a bachelor’s in mathematics from from mathematics in bachelor’s a dual degree year, poised to to poised year, degree dual

conservative in large part due to the the to due part large in conservative Washington, D.C. After receiving receiving After D.C. Washington, aron Lucas is in his final final his in is Lucas aron

Student Highlight: Aaron Lucas Aaron Highlight: Student

ademic ademic Ac -13 012 2 Year