Who says mathematical modeling can’t be creative? IBM‘s Brenda Dietrich (OR extraordinaire) was selected as #27 on Fast Company’s list of The 100 Most Creative People in Business. She finished ahead of many celebrities, including children’s book author/illustrator Maurice Sendak (who wrote Where the Wild Things Are and my personal favorite Chicken Soup with Rice, which I can recite from memory), Neil Gaiman, Tyra Banks, and Brian Eno. Amazing! I tip my hat to Brenda Dietrich.
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Update on 5/29.
For more about Brenda Dietrich and her division in IBM:
- An IBM article
- A 2007 Fast Company article and Mike Trick’s blog post about it
- OR/MS Today interview 12/2006
Punk Rock Operations Research 
May 27th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
While it cool that she is listed above celebrities, what makes her more creative than say Jim Orlin at MIT or you Laura?
Yes, I did read the text at both Fast Company and IBM.
May 28th, 2009 at 7:41 am
You flatter me! The list was limited to 100 people, and I think Brenda Dietrich is an excellent choice.
May 28th, 2009 at 6:21 pm
With no insult to her nor any insincere flattery to you, what is an example of something she has done that elevates her as a creative person ? The examples I seen in the all too brief article does not give enough information to evaluate. Since you seem to be a great fan of Brenda, I was hoping you could expand on the article by providing examples of what sets her apart.
May 29th, 2009 at 11:04 am
Your point is well-received. I wish I had more time to expand on the post and provide some really good motivating examples. As per Brenda Dietrich, there was an excellent interview in OR/MS Today with Brenda Dietrich a couple of years back, but I couldn’t find a link to it. I updated the post with a couple of links. Perhaps this article will inspire someone to write a more in-depth interview with Dietrich (perhaps yourself?)