|
|
|
President's Welcome
 I am pleased to welcome all of you to San Diego and the 2009 INFORMS Annual Meeting. However, I am also compelled to note that we come together in challenging times. Listen to a news broadcast, check a news website, or pick up a newspaper. You cannot miss stories about those challenges - the recession, business failures, unemployment, armed conflict in distant places, the threat of terrorism both at home and abroad, the puzzling future of healthcare, energy policy in the face of climate change, the disruptive effects of globalization and emerging technologies, and much more.
In the face of these sobering challenges, what are we, as a profession, doing about it? The short answer: In these trying times, what could possibly be more important than operations research, management science, and our related disciplines? No one among us would claim that we are only relevant when times are tough - the science of smart decision making is useful whenever we are confronted by difficult choices and complex problems. But faced with many difficult choices and problems of such great complexity, we acquire heightened relevance. After all, the very essence of our field is to find creative solutions, make effective decisions, manage risk, and obtain the most benefit while using the least quantity of scarce resources. So it is quite proper that we come together to share ideas and solutions, to advance our field, and to engage in all forms of professional collaboration and communication. I am particularly looking forward to the Awards Ceremony on Sunday evening, where we have an opportunity to celebrate the very best that our field has to offer, including work that is in many cases relevant to the challenges I mention above.
As you glance through the absolutely packed program for this four day meeting, and as you rush from session to session, please take some time to reflect on the hundreds of people who worked for months (or even years) to put this conference together. With over 3,900 presentations, 75 concurrent tracks, multiple plenary and keynote addresses, receptions and social events, subdivision business meetings, and much more than I can possibly describe here, it is truly a massive undertaking. I particularly wish to thank General Chair Soheila Jorjani, Program Co-Chairs Mohammad Oskoorouchi and Carlton Scott, and their entire Organizing Committee for a job well done. A special thanks also goes out to the INFORMS staff, who take care of myriad details, tie up loose ends, and field requests from thousands of conference attendees, all while maintaining both good humor and grace under pressure.
I hope to be able to greet many of you in person over the next four days. As my remarks above suggest, we are here to do some serious business. However, let's not forget that we are in sunny San Diego, and there are plenty of opportunities to have fun, see old friends and colleagues, and connect with new ones. Enjoy!
Don N. Kleinmuntz
2009 INFORMS President |
|
Welcome from the General Chair
Dear Friends of Operations Research and Management Science,
 It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to beautiful sunny San Diego, the finest city in America.
This year's conference truly reflects the many faces of San Diego. Also known as Silicon Beach, San Diego is home to one of the most concentrated computer and telecommunication industry clusters in the country.The biotech industry in and around San Diego is second to none - and it was here in San Diego 51 years ago that global warming was first discussed. As the gateway to the Pacific Rim and with one-third of the U.S. Naval Pacific fleet based here, San Diego has become a truly international destination.
Our plenary and keynote speakers, as well the entire program, are deeply embedded in this rich background. Two highly successful company founders and scientists will address challenges and trends in the biotech and telecommunication industries. Speakers from FERC,HP, MIT, Stanford, and UCLA will address challenges as diverse as global education initiatives, energy efficient power distribution, socially and environmentally responsible supply chains, and climate policy models.
We are pleased to see an increased focus of operations research on environmental concerns, and as members of the Organizing Committee, we have tried to make INFORMS a bit greener. You might have conceivably already contributed to this effort by opting out of having a printed program, and you might notice that your name tags and program bags are made from recycled materials. We realize that these are small steps but hope that more creative minds will build on them in the future.
I would like to thank the Organizing Committee members for their efforts, but special thanks goes to Mohammad Oskoorouchi who as the Program Co-Chair has put an amazing program together; moreover, Mohammad in his additional role as Tutorials Chair, was able to invite 22 highly accomplished scholars and thought leaders in the field as tutorial speakers for the conference. Thomas Roemer, the Invited Sessions Chair,was instrumental in inviting the exemplary group of plenary and keynote speakers. The other members of the Organizing Committee who also were instrumental in organizing this conference are Carlton Scott, Fred Raafat, Jeff Guyse, Abdullah Dasci, Fang Fang, Erica Klampfl, Robert Aboolian, and Ishpal Rekhi. It was also a privilege and pleasure for me to work with the INFORMS staff; they are a very professional, efficient, effective, organized, and friendly group of people to work with. Finally, special thanks go to our sponsors, who even in these hard economic times were generous enough to support us in this endeavor. Our leadership sponsors are IBM and Microsoft Solver Foundation, and our corporate and academic sponsors include AIMMS, California State University San Marcos, San Diego State University, the Rady School of Management at UCSD, and the University of Texas at Dallas.
A great time is assured to all: an informative conference, a delightful climate, and a new hotel in the downtown with proximity to many of the attractions that San Diego has to offer. The general reception will be held at the world famous SeaWorld with a private evening at the Shamu show. There are also plant tours of two manufacturing facilities.
Enjoy the conference, the beautiful city of San Diego and its environs, and STAY GREEN!
Soheila Jorjani
General Chair
2009 INFORMS Annual Meeting
|
|
Today's Key Events
Plenaries and Keynotes
10-10:50am
Welcome and Omega Rho Distinguished Lecture, Hilton Sapphire I, 4th floor
Welcome - Don N. Kleinmuntz, INFORMS President; and Soheila Jorjani, Annual Meeting General Chair
Omega Rho - Hau L. Lee, Stanford University, "Socially and Environmentally Responsible Supply Chains"
3:10-4pm
Charles R. Cantor, SEQUENOM, "There Is More Mathematics in the Future of Biotechnology," Hilton Sapphire I, 4th floor
3:10-4pm
Richard C. Larson, MIT, "Worldwide Reach into High School Math and Science Classes," Hilton Sapphire M, 4th floor
Tutorials
11-12:30pm, 1:30-3pm, 4:30-6pm Hilton room 310
See program for more information.
Doing Good with Good O.R. Student Paper Competition
1:30-3pm and 4:30-6pm, Hilton Room 412
Attend the five finalist presentations during these two sessions. The winner will be announced during Sunday evening's Awards Ceremony, 8:30-9:45pm, Convention Center, Exhibit Hall H.
Exhibits Open
12-5pm and 7:30-9pm, Convention Center, Exhibit Hall H
Be sure to visit the Exhibit Hall today at noon. Forty exhibitors are hand to share their expertise and services. You can win a Kindle - visit the Exhibit Hall for details. Two Kindles will be awarded today at 4:15pm. You must be present to win.
Job Fair Open
12-5pm, Convention Center, Exhibit Hall H
Employers and job seekers meet in an informal atmosphere.
IOL Launch Party
6-7pm, Hilton room 206
See a demonstration of our new website and meet Editor-in-Chief Mohan Sodhi.
Community Business Meetings
Most are 6:15-7:15pm - See rooms below (C = Convention Center; H = Hilton). Don't miss your Community Business Meeting. Communities are the lifeblood of INFORMS.
| Aviation Applications |
C - 31A |
| Data Mining & Artificial Intelligence |
C - 24C |
| eBusiness |
C - 26B |
| Energy, Natural Resources, & the Environment |
H - 505, 5th fl. |
| Forum on Education (INFORM-ED) |
H - 202A, 2nd fl. |
| Information Systems |
H - Indigo B, 2nd fl. |
| Location Analysis |
H - 312, 3rd fl. |
| Military Applications |
Board C - 30D |
| Minority Issues Forum |
H - 500, 5th fl. |
| Optimization |
H - 310, 3rd fl. |
| Railway Applications |
C - 32A |
| Revenue Management & Pricing |
H - 503, 5th fl. |
| Service Science |
H - 402, 4th fl. |
| Simulation |
C - 31C |
| Section on Public Programs, Services & Needs |
H - Sapphire K, 4th fl. |
| Telecommunications |
C - 27A |
| Transportation Science & Logistics |
Board C - 30B |
| Women in OR/MS |
H - 411, 4th fl. |
| *Decision Analysis Council |
H - 204B, 2nd fl. |
| **Revenue Management & Pricing Board |
H - 503, 5th fl. |
*6:15-7:30pm
**7:15-8:15pm
Welcome Reception
7:30-9pm Convention Center, Exhibit Hall H
Join the evening of fellowship and fun. Renew old acquaintances over food and drink.
Chapters Meet and Greet
7:30-9 pm Convention Center, Exhibit Hall H
During the Welcome Reception, get to know new friends and colleagues at the closest geographic chapter. Choose a table and learn about chapter activities.
Awards Ceremony and Dessert Reception
8:30-9:45pm, Convention Center room 28A-D, upper level
|
|
INFORMS Awards to be Presented on Sunday
INFORMS Prize for the Teaching of OR/MS Practice Award
James K. Lowe, U.S. Air Force AcademyINFORMS Expository Writing Prize
Dimitri Bertsekas, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyPhilip McCord Morse Lectureship Award
Edward H. Kaplan, Yale UniversityJohn von Neumann Theory Prize
Yurii Nesterov, Catholic University of Louvain;
Yinyu Ye, Stanford University George E. Kimball Medal
Mark S. Daskin, Northwestern University;
Michael A.Trick, Carnegie Mellon University INFORMS President's Award
Ralph L. Keeney, Duke UniversityGeorge E. Nicholson Student Paper CompetitionTo be determined George B. Dantzig Dissertation Awards
To be determined Doing Good with Good O.R. Student Competition
To be determined Bonder Scholarships for Applied Operations Research in Health Science and in Military Applications
To be determined |
|
Community Awards to be Presented on Sunday
Data Mining Section Student Paper Award
The INFORMS Data Mining (DM) Student Paper Award is given to the best paper, as judged by a panel of members of the Section, on any topic related to data mining by a student author. The award is initiated this year to recognize and encourage student members. Award Winner: Michele Samorani Presented Sunday, October 11, 6:15pm, Data Mining Section Business Meeting, Convention Center, 24C Energy, Natural Resources & the Environment Section
Student Paper Award
This award is given annually to the best paper dealing with energy, environmental, or natural resource issues by a student author who is presenting at the INFORMS Annual Meeting, as judged by a panel of the Energy, Natural Resources and the Environment Section. The award is accompanied by a $300 cash prize. Award Winner: Paul Enders Presented Sunday, October 11, 6:15pm, Energy, Natural Resources, and the Environment Section Business Meeting, Hilton room 505, 5th floor Section on Location Analysis (SOLA)
SOLA-AIR Products Dissertation Award This award is given to the best dissertation in the area of Location Analysis. Location analysis and/or theory are a primary focus; i.e., the dissertation contains a significant location science component from problem and/or methodology perspective. The winner receives a plaque and a $1,000 cash prize. Award Winner: Sebastian Velten
Finalists: Ho-Yin Mak, Michael Lim
Presented Sunday, October 11, 6:15pm, Location Analysis Section Business Meeting, Hilton room 312, 3rd floor
Optimization Society
Optimization Society Student Paper Prize
The Student Paper Prize recognizes the most outstanding paper in optimization that is submitted to and received by, or published in a refereed professional journal no more than three years before the closing date of the nomination.
Award Winner: Dan Andrei Iancu
Presented Sunday, October 11, 6:15pm, Optimization Society Business Meeting, Hilton room 310, 3rd floor
Railway Applications Section
Management Science in RailwayApplications Student Competition Award
This award is sponsored by RAS (Railway Applications Section) and Railway Age. Cash awards include $500 for first place and $250 for second place. RAS will cover the conference registration fees for all primary authors who are asked to present their papers, including honorable mention. Railway Age will publish summaries of the first place and second place entries.
Award Winner: Endong Zhu
Second Place: Rodrigo Agost
Presented Sunday, October 11, 6:15pm, Railway Applications Section Business Meeting, Convention Center, 32A
Service Science Section
Best Paper Award
The Service Science Section of INFORMS announces the Best Paper Award to recognize excellence among its members. The awards program brings prestige to the Service Science Section as well as to the recipients honored.
Award Winners: Mustafa Akan, Oguzhan Alagoz, Barıs Ata, Fatih Safa Erenay, Adnan Said
Second Place: Guillaume Roels, Uday S. Karmarkar, Scott Carr
Third Place: Christian Wernz, Andrew Henry
Finalists: Jiahan Li, Byung Do Chung, Tao Yao, Changhyun Kwon, Terry L. Friesz
Presented Sunday, October 11, 6:15pm, Service Science Section Business Meeting, Hilton room 402, 4th floor |
|
INFORMS Membership Meeting and Reception
 A large contingent of INFORMS members met Saturday evening in Hilton Sapphire A over cheese and wine to renew acquaintances, learn more about the direction of INFORMS, and see a demonstration of the new INFORMS website, to be launched in late November. INFORMS President Don Kleinmuntz welcomed the members, introduced Board members and senior INFORMS staff, and made a heartfelt pitch to become involved in INFORMS to the greatest extent possible. Don relayed his own satisfaction in becoming involved in INFORMS and what that has meant to his career and to him personally. INFORMS Director of marketing Gary Bennett led the members on a tour of the new website, which has been two years in the making. The new website will feature a new look and feel, improved site navigation, social networking tools, personalization, an increased emphasis on news items, and better overall INFORMS branding. The website will be demonstrated in detail at the IOL launch party on Sunday evening at 6pm in Hilton room 206.
|
|
Free -- 2009 TutORials in Operations Research CD!
 Pick up your copy of the 2009 TutORials in Operations Research CD at two locations: the Registration Desk and INFORMS Booth #41 in the Exhibit Hall. Find the coupon for the free CD enclosed in your registration envelope.
The 2009 CD includes nine of the tutorials that will be presented at the 2009 INFORMS Annual Meeting. Books and additional CDs will be available for sale at the INFORMS Booth.
Attendees must present the special 2009 TutORials CD coupon to receive their free CD. |
|
INFORMS In the News
 Coverage of the 2009 INFORMS Annual Meeting appears in the San Diego Union Tribune.
Read the article here. |
|
Free -- 2009 Edelman DVD
 Stop by INFORMS Booths #41-43 in Exhibit Hall H in the Convention Center to pick up your complimentary copy of the 2009 Edelman DVD. DVD features six great presentations of real-world, award-winning operations research projects, including 2009 winner Hewlett-Packard. |
|
Engage with Online Tools at the Annual Meeting
Blogs
Go to the Annual Meeting website during the meeting for commentary from your friends and colleagues. INFORMS has engaged a team of bloggers to get the discussion started. Agree or disagree with what they say? Be sure to add your own comments to the blogs. Our volunteer bloggers: Hari Balasubramanian, Liwen Chen, Mary Crissey, Jim Cochrane, Fang Fang, Erica Klampfl, Maarten Oosten, Guillaume Roels, Matt Saltzman, Aurelie Thiele, Michael Trick, and Helio Yang.
Tweets
All attendees are invited to let us know what you are seeing and doing at the Annual Meeting by tweeting about it; be sure to add the hash tag "#informs09" to the beginning or end of your tweets to identify them as pertaining to the INFORMS Annual Meeting. Meetings staff will also use Twitter to communicate late-breaking changes to the program.
LinkedIn
Join our LinkedIn Group devoted to the Annual Meeting. Ninety of your colleagues have done so already. Go here to see news, find jobs, and join the discussion.
Photos and Video
Please take photos and video at the Annual Meeting and e-mail them to us at [email protected] for posting on the Annual Meeting website. Contributions will be judged for creativity and artistic merit. Contributors will be eligible to win one of two Flip Video Mino Series. To view the contest rules, including the type of photos and videos you may or may not shoot, visit here. |
|
INFORMS Booth Activities
Stop by the INFORMS Booth in the Exhibit Hall (#41-43) to receive valuable products and information:
- 50% off bookstore sale
- Talk to Jeff Camm, INFORMS Prize Chair, Monday, 10-11am
- Free sample journals giveaway
- Information on volunteering
- Free Community newsletters
- Free 2009 Edelman DVD
- Membership information (what's changing in 2010)
Exhibit Hall hours:
Sunday, 12-5pm and 7:30-9pm
Monday and Tuesday, 9am-5pm
Wednesday, 9am-1pm | |
|
|
|
| Schedule Changes |
|
New Plenary Speaker: Richard O'Neill, Federal Energy Regulatiory Commission, replaces Mark M. Little, GE, with "Better Smarter Electricity Markets: Efficiently Capturing Wind, Rain and Fire," Monday, October 12, 10-10:50am, Hilton Sapphire I, 4th floor.
Also follow the INFORMS Meeting announcements on Twitter.
| |
INFORMS Booth/Bookstore Sale!
Stop by the INFORMS Bookstore for savings on print and electronic products. The bookstore is located at the INFORMS Booth #43. Attendees will receive a 50% discount off select book titles while supplies last. Plus pick up your complimentary TutORials in OR CD and Edelman DVD, purchase recently published books, and register for the INFORMS PubsOnLine Suite (all 12 journals online) for just $99.
|
H1N1 Flu Precautions
We recognize that some people at the INFORMS meeting have concerns about the H1N1 flu. We encourage all attendees to use common-sense precautions to protect both yourself and those around you:
+Wash your hands frequently with soap and water. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective and can be purchased at any drug store. There will be convenient Purell hand sanitizing stations available at the San Diego Convention Center and Hilton.
+If you sneeze or cough, use a tissue to cover your mouth; then safely discard the tissue and wash your hands.
+If you feel ill, with a fever and flu-like symptoms, please inform the INFORMS meeting organizers that you are ill so we can assist you if needed. Contact the INFORMS Registration Desk at 619.525.6333. |
Win a Kindle!
Visit the exhibits and get in the running to win a Kindle! INFORMS will award two Kindles during the afternoon coffee breaks in the Exhibit Hall. Just follow these easy steps:
+Stop by one of the booths to pick up a raffle coupon (different coupon for each day).
+Fill out the coupon and get it stamped by the exhibitor.
+While you're at the booth, give the exhibitor an opportunity to tell you about their company's products!
+Place your completed coupon in the Kindle raffle bin.
+You must be present to win.
Schedule:
+Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday afternoon coffee breaks.
+Submit your coupon by 3:45pm.
+Drawing: 4:15pm. Location in the Exhibit Hall to be announced.
Note: There is a different coupon for each day. Only coupons for that day will be eligible.
You must be present to win. | |
|
