OR63 Online: Creating a better future
Pre-conference day: 13 September 2021
Spotlight on women: a discussion and networking event from the Women in OR and Analytics Network
We'll be talking to Cynthia about her career trajectory, the challenges she encountered and what she learned along the way, and explore how her background in operations research and analytics has served her well as an academic leader, before throwing the discussion open to the floor for questions and comments.
We’ll then have a short break to top up refreshments, before splitting into small groups to explore the issues further, or just have a relaxed conversation ahead of the annual conference.
The WORAN event starts: 13 September 2021
Missed last year's event, watch it here! Note: we cannot record breakout rooms.
Our aim is to make women visible as role models and contributors to OR, to explore issues affecting women, to help build and consolidate professional interaction and networking, to make sure that women’s voices are heard, and to be an enjoyable opportunity to get out and about.
Time | Description |
16:25 |
'Doors' open - a chance to introduce yourselves in the chat, before the meeting starts |
16:30 |
Welcome to WORAN's eve-of-conference event, putting the spotlight on Women in OR and Analytics with Frances O'Brien, Chair of WORAN |
16:40 |
An OR/Analytics mindset and organisational leadership Cynthia Barnhart, Ford Foundation Professor of Engineering , Professor in OR, and former chancellor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology in conversation with WORAN The conversation will cover Cynthia's career trajectory, the challenges she encountered and what she learned along the way, and explore how her background in operations research and analytics has served her well as an academic leader. We'll be opening up the discussion to the 'floor' for questions and comments. So if you have any interest in the topic of OR/analytics people in organisational leadership, come along and make your contribution. |
17:40 |
Comfort break, and chance to top up your refreshments - or switch to a glass of wine. |
17:45 |
Discussion Groups, return for the second half, where we will break into small groups for discussion of the issues raised - or just for meeting up with colleagues, if you prefer. We expect to have two successive breakouts, to give you more of a chance to meet different people. |
18:15 |
Return to plenary, for sharing any key points from the discussion. |
18:30 |
Close |
Note: This is a tentative agenda, subject to change. We will post the final agenda and speakers closer to the event date.
Cynthia has served as Chancellor, Associate and Acting Dean for the School of Engineering, and co-director of the Operations Research Center and the Center for Transportation and Logistics.
Barnhart’s teaching and research are in the areas of large-scale optimization and analytics, with a focus on applications in transportation and logistics systems. She has supervised scores of graduate and undergraduate theses across a range of disciplines, and has published widely in the flagship journals of her field.
Barnhart is an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and is a fellow of the Institute for Operations Research and Management Science (INFORMS). She has served as the President of INFORMS, the President of the INFORMS Women in Operations Research and Management Science, and the President of the INFORMS Transportation Science and Logistics Society. Barnhart’s awards include the INFORMS President’s Award, the INFORMS Franz Edelman Prize for Achievement in Operations Research and the Management Sciences, the National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award, and honorary doctorates from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and the University of Toronto.
Barnhart received her SM in transportation in 1986 and her PhD in 1988 from MIT.
Frances O’Brien is an Associate Professor in OR and Management Science at Warwick Business School. She teaches modelling, analytics and supporting strategy development to a variety of student groups.
Her research interests include the development and use of tools to support strategy development, in particular scenario planning. She currently chairs the Women in OR & Analytics Network (WORAN) and the OR and Strategy Special Interest Group for the OR Society.
The Women in OR & Analytics Network is an established network for analysts and operational research practitioners and academics. If you're interested in joining the network, we are looking for voices, knowledge and experience in this group. By becoming part of the network you will help us to build a strong, self-supporting network and to set better conditions for the next cohort of women launching into their careers in OR and analytics.