ABSTRACT: Industrial engineers use analytical methods to improve the design and operation of complex systems. Advancing industrial engineering and operations research through societally relevant applications has been a central theme of Dr. Laura Albert’s academic research career. In this talk, she will overview her research that studies how to design and operate public sector systems in applications ranging from public safety, critical infrastructure protection, and election resilience. Using stories from her research, she will offer insight into identifying problems worthy of study, overcoming modeling challenges, creating data-driven modeling frameworks, and influencing policy.

BIO: Laura Albert, Ph.D., is a Professor and the David Gustafson Department Chair of Industrial & Systems Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is also the 2023 President of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS). Professor Albert’s research interests are in the field of operations research and analytics with application to homeland security, emergency response, and public sector problems. She has been awarded many honors for her research, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow Award, Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) Fellow Award, the INFORMS Impact Prize, a National Science Foundation CAREER award, and a Fulbright Award. She is also an engineering ambassador who regularly promotes industrial engineering and operations research locally and nationally through media appearances and her blog entitled “Punk Rock Operations Research.”