speed networking and other events at INFORMS

I am very excited about heading to INFORMS – it will be a busy conference for me.

I want to publicize the Women in OR/MS (WORMS) cluster (I am the President), because we are yet again aiming to have a small, high quality cluster. I am particularly excited about our Speed Networking session. All of these sessions are open to both men and women (just in case you were wondering).

• Best of Women in OR/MS – Monday 11:00-12:30. Three women in OR/MS present their highly influential work published in INFORMS journals in 2012.
• Careers in Industry  Monday 13:30-15:00. Panel discussion with moderator Erica Klampfl from Ford Motor Company and panelists Sharon Arroyo from The Boeing Company, Cassandra McZeal from ExxonMobil and Genetha Gray from Sandia National Laboratories.
• Speed Networking Tuesday 16:30-18:00. This is the first event of its kind at INFORMS. Speed networking will be like speed dating except that researchers can meet each other to discuss potential research collaborations. Junior faculty are especially encouraged to attend. This event is co-sponsored by MIF & JFIG. Bring lots of business cards!!

I am co-chairing the Doing Good with Good OR competition this year (with Jeremie Gallien) along with committee members Susan Martonosi, Sila Cetinkaya, Carri Chan, and Ruben Proano. The student presentations are on Sunday at 11am and 1:30pm, and the winner will be announced on Sunday night’s award ceremony.

I will unfortunately have to miss the Saul Gass memorial run on Tuesday morning. I’ve penciled in my conference run at another time. I’ll be at the race in spirit.

I’ll be busy with many of the social events at the conference: awards ceremonies, breakfasts, business meetings, and luncheons. I highly recommend taking the time for several social events – they provide the best opportunities for networking. I don’t have time for much else this year.

I am President Elect of the section on Public Programs, Services & Needs (SPPSN), which has its lunch and business meeting on Monday from 12:30 – 1:30. Tickets are available. Conference attendees who want to attend the business meeting but don’t want lunch are welcome to attend.

The WORMS luncheon (Tuesday, 12:30-1:30) is always my favorite event at the INFORMS Annual Meeting. The luncheon is the best networking event for women at INFORMS, and it’s a wonderful place to celebrate women’s achievements in OR/MS. We are able to host the lunch through our many generous sponsors:

Georgia Institute of Technology – Industrial & Systems Engineering
Lehigh University – College of Engineering & Applied Science
SIMUL8
Northwestern University – Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences
University of Michigan – Department of Industrial & Operations Engineering
Texas A&M – Industrial & Systems Engineering
Virginia Commonwealth University – Department of Statistical Sciences & Operations Research
University of Massachusetts – Isenberg School of Management
University of Florida – Industrial & Systems Engineering
University of Missouri-St. Louis – Department of Logistics & Operations Management
University of Texas at Arlington – Department of Industrial & Manufacturing Systems Engineering
University of Texas at Austin – OR/IE Program