The Or Times Vol 4 Issue 2 Fall 2009

Message From the Incoming Chapter President The INFORMS@USF chapter had a successful 20082009 academic year that was full of ideas and activities. Our chapter has experienced a tremendous increase in membership; which is evident in the new participants who fairly got elected into the 2009-2010 chapter committee. I encourage all of us to make 2009-2010 a year of opportunity seeking and grasping. The O.R. community offers numerous opportunities. For instance, INFORMS offers a number of prizes and awards that span our research areas. The Health Care Applications section offers the Bonder Scholarship for applied Operations Research in Health Services, the Quality Statistics and Reliability section awards the best student paper; and the Energy, Natural Resources and the Environment provides prizes for outstanding publications. By participating, we disseminate our research, learn to communicate our knowledge and share our potential to a wider audience, whether we win the awards or not. We also establish our presence in the O.R. community and enhance the name of our department and our school. The ongoing endeavors of our chapter are Kudos to the outg oing and the relevant to the accom- incoming comm it te e membe plishment of our goals. informs studen rs t chapter offiThe INFORMS and cers. IMSE Lecture Series Wilkistar facilitates learning Otieno about research efforts Editor from other institutions, and broadens our network. Similarly, we are planning to initiate the "Graduate Research Exchange" series, where invitees will be graduate students from other INFORMS student chapters. Finally, all members are welcomed to actively participate in our volunteering initiatives: the YEA after school program, the USF’s Stampede of Service, and the Metropolitan Ministries holiday tent improvement, as ways of reaching out to the Hillsborough community while enhancing our interpersonal skills. We welcome all ideas we can get that will further our mission of creating an environment which will promote academic and professional excellence in all areas of Operations Research and the Management Sciences (OR/ MS). Congratulations to the INFORMS@USF committee and By Laila Cure, IMSE PhD. Student members. Incoming INFORMS@USF Chapter President

Laila Cure

Fethullah Caliskan

President

Logistics

Wilkistar Otieno

Patricio Rocha

Vice President

Diana Prieto

Dayna Martinez

Webmaster

Oguz Cimenler

Courtney Feliciani

Treasurers

Meredith Bounds

Anahita Hassanzadeh

OR Times Editors

Secretary

Ozan Ozcan

Athina Brintaki

Ramzi Sinokrot

Andres Uribe

Qingwei Li

Lecture Series coordinators

Publicity team

To all students, faculty and staff. To the new professors of the IMSE department:: Dr. Bo Zeng, Assistant Professor (Spring 2009) Dr. Hui Yang, Assistant Professor (Fall 2009) Dr. Patricia Zarate, MSEM Coordinator (Fall 2009)

Volume 4, Issue 1 Fall 2009 s issue: …………………….2 Inside thi ation room er op e th 3 ts at

Departmental Kudos Dr. Griselle Centeno: Won the competitive WIRES travel award to Barcelona, Spain Vishnu Nanduri: Tenure track position at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Patricio Rocha: Appointed Co-Editor of “OR/MS INFORMS national chapter newsletter.

Incoming Chapter Committee

…. IMSE Studen Flu”? …..… “The Swine t gh Fi to y …………….4 Are We Read F? …………………… INFORMS@US in Jo I es ………...4 Why should cture Seri Le 09 20 F Spring INFORMS@US

today” the

A Newsletter from Student Chapter of INFORMS @ IMSE, USF The editor can be reached at [email protected]

Message From the INFORMS Chapter President My tenure as the President of the INFORMS Chapter @ USF is coming to an end and all I can say is that it was a great experience. At first, I was a bit skeptical about the way things were going to work, I was scared of not being able to motivate people to help with the organization of activities and events or even get my fellow students to attend these events. Little by little this skepticism disappeared and I realized that I had a very nice group of people always there, willing to help me and to take responsibility for the tasks involved in the events the chapter planned to organize. We certainly could have done more than what we did. It was hard for all of us to meet certain deadlines, particularly for releasing newsletters. Sometimes I felt that our chapter meetings could have been much better organized with more people attending, or even that we could have done more activities (more talks and more socials). However, at the same time I feel content because we were able to keep the chapter running in good shape: we increased the amount of guest speakers, thanks to the INFORMS-IMSE Lecture Series program; we got involved with the YEA after school program where several of our members volunteered to help K-5 students from an economically disadvantaged school with their homework; we developed a manual for new graduate students for the IMSE department; we successfully organized a new edition of the INFORMS International Potluck and several social events; we implemented a tutoring session for undergraduates; and also released several issues of The OR Times—the chapter’s newsletter. I believe the chapter is in a good position to continue doing good things for the IMSE department and the community in general. A good sign of this good position is the interest that several of the students from the department showed in becoming members of the committee during the most recent elections. Student chapters are sometimes overlooked by students, viewed as a way of wasting our precious research time (here I talk from my experience, a few years back I was not a fan of participating on these things). While it is true that actively participating in a student chapter will consume a little bit of your time, what you get in return is worth the sacrifice. Working with people, coordinating activities, improving your written and oral skills, making new friends, getting to know more people from outside USF, diversifying your portfolio of activities, are things that you can do and get better at by taking responsibilities in a student organization such as INFORMS. With regards to the new committee, I am sure you guys will do a great job. Laila Cure is an excellent choice for president but she will need our help. I hope all of us will be there when she needs us. By Patricio Rocha, IMSE PhD. Student 2008/2009 INORMS@USF Chapter President

Featured cuisines: Pollo Guisado (Colombian) Ugali & Ndengu (Kenyan) Gelatina Mosaico (Pt. Rican Vegetarian Pulao (Indian)

Borek (Turkish) Mosxaraki kokkonisto (Greek) Pastel de carne (Mexican)

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The Informs Student Chapter at USF in January 2009 launched the 2009 Annual Lecture Series event. Through research presentations and discussions, academicians from different departments, universities and/or research centers are brought to USF’s IMSE department to promote engineering research in cross disciplinary domains. On January 23rd 2009, USF-INFORMS student chapter invited Dr. Yan Wang from the University of Central Florida for a talk on Geometric Modeling in Computer-aided Design. Dr. Wang presented a periodic surface model, inspired by the minimal surfaces existing in nature in describing structures for nanoscale molecular design. An emphasis was given on the resourceful role of geometry for improving the efficiency of phase transition simulation which is a critical step towards the design of functional nanoscale materials.

Dr. Yan Wang of Uni. Central Fl shares insights about geometric modeling

On February 27th 2009, Dr. Cole Smith from the University of Florida initiated a discussion about new approaches to solve Bi-level problems. Bi-level optimization algorithms are commonly used in settings that involve multiple decision-makers of stochastic processes. Dr. Smith presented a new cutting-plane algorithm that easily handles previously unsolved problems as well as a hybrid integer programming/constraint algorithm that substantially outperforms pure mathematical approaches. On March 9th 2009, Dr. Benjamin Craig from Moffitt Cancer Center facilitated a discussion about integrating societal preferences into analytic decision models for health care reform. Emphasis was given on health care policies’ lack of a holistic approach that incorporates system’s productivity and efficiency. In addition, Dr. Craig presented a review of the health care policies in the US and abroad, and discussed the emergence of the US Federal Coordinating Council for Clinical Effectiveness Research. In conclusion, Dr Craig highlighted the demand for engi-

Lecture on Bi-level optimization by Dr. Cole Smith of the University of Florida

neering involvement in health care decision making, to guide health care reforms, improve population health and reduce cost particularly in cancer related cases. The establishment of interdisciplinary lectures and presentations defines the transformative trend of science and engineering. Cross discipline discussions initiate the generation of novel ideas and provide seeds for researches’ innovation mill. It is of fundamental importance for any academician to bear in mind that evolution applies to all living organisms and knowledge should not be an exception. Therefore, one of the fundamental objectives of USFINFORS chapter is to assist in the realization of knowledge not as a specialization tool but a means to achieving fathomless academic and intellectual perspective. By Athina Brintaki, IMSE PhD. Student

IMSE students and faculty during the lecture by Benjamin Craig of Moffitt Cancer Center, on health care decision process reforms

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News Feature IMSE Students at the Operation Room All engineering seniors must take the CAPSTONE DESIGN course as a fulfillment to the requirements set by both the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET) and Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). This class requires the “Capstones” to make use of their prior engineering courses to solve a "real-world" engineering problem or to develop a viable product. With mentoring from the professor, the course concludes the “Capstones” academic studies by solving engineering problems that do not have "answer in the back of the book". Rather, the answers are determined from the application of good engineering design, analysis and judgment concerning the production process, product, potential market even as far as the products’’ “Life Cycle Analysis.” This year, 17 seniors, divided into six teams took the industrial engineering capstone design class. The team projects ranged from designing a fiber optic catheter, -----a high speed plastic injection molding, a sorting system for recyRight to left: Dr. Hart (TGH/USF), J. Ward, W. Otieno, L. Xueying and J. Rollan cled material and the design of care cycles for lung(USF) resection patients following their existing medical data. I was mostly interested in the design of a SuturePro, a project that dealt with the design of a suturing device to close up surgical openings. This project was conceived by Dr. G. Okogbaa, Dr. S. Lai-Yuen, Prof. D. Gooding (IMSE) and Dr. Stuart Hart, Professor in the USF’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The “Capstones” working on the SuturePro had the opportunity to visit Tampa General Hospital’s OR, and to witness three consecutive laparoscopic surgeries—a complete hysterectomy and two cyctectomies. I was fortunate to accompany this group of seniors. To say that I was excited at the experience is an understatement. My delight was akin to that of a four-year old at a candy store. Being a woman, I not only had the opportunity to witness the intricacy of the woman’s reproductive organ, but also witnessed the Da Vinci robotic surgery. Intuitive Surgical—a company in Mountain view, California, developed the Da Vinci surgical robotic system. They called it so partly because Leonardo Da Vinci invented the first robot. Da Vinci became one of the greatest medical developments of the 21st century. It was designed as an improvement of the conventional laparoscopy, a minimally invasive surgery, intended to minimize post-operative pain and speed up recovery times, while maintaining an enhanced visual field for surgeons. In laparoscopic abdominal proLaparoscopic procedure: Adopted from A.D.A.M cedures, three to four 5-10 mm incisions are made, through which the surgeon accesses the interior part of the abdomen. The Da Vinci surgical system offers one of the most effective, least invasive treatment options with unmatched precision, accuracy and control. To date, da Vinci surgeries have successfully been performed for urological and gynecological conditions. While Da Vinci revolutionalized endoscopic and urological operations, several pertinent functionalities are absent. This is why we were at the OR. As industrial engineers, we were there to witness, identify procedures that needed intervention and ponder alternative remedies. After a successful two-hour operation, it takes either the human surgeon or Da Vinci an average of thirty minutes to suture back the wound. Believe me, after a strenuous successful surgery, any surgeon will appreciate a suturing gadget that enables them to close back any internal opening faster than thirty minutes.

The Da Vinci surgical system

The drawback of this procedure is that the white tissue, the fascia, a layer beneath the dermis whose main function is to protect the abdominal internal organs is too tough to be pulled and sutured. This was the main focus of the teams’ design project. Tough and tight as it may be, the fascia has to be sutured extremely well, failure of which would result in a rupture, that could result in a hernia. To stem this occurrence, the team of three IE seniors designed “the SuturePro” an automatic suturing gadget that would deploy at the press of a trigger, and complete a stitch around the fascia. (See page 3 for more Da Vinci facts)

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Research Corner Are We Ready to Fight “The Swine Flu”? A Novel Approach to Mitigate Cross-Regional Pandemic Outbreaks We are under the threat of the first pandemic of our century has just arrived. The World Health Organization has raised the pandemic alert level to 5, which means that the whole world should be prepared for a pandemic influenza (WHO). The existing risk is caused by the swine H1N1 virus. It combines genetic code of swain, bird and human flu viruses and initiated human to human transmission in the country of Mexico. This scenario is completely different than the one expected by the world and national health authorities, whose ongoing efforts were focused on the containment and mitigation of a possible H5N1 avian flu pandemic that originated from Asia. The current scenario is a clear indicator that, although some prevention can be planned before a pandemic outbreak, the only way to take optimal decisions for a pandemic is by building and adopting real-time methodologies that lead to dynamic asFrom NYTimes.com sessment and control of diseases. To fill this vacuum, our interdisciplinary research team (Dr. Tapas Das and Dr. Alex Savachkin, Andres Uribe, Dayna Martinez, Diana Prieto and Alfredo Santana of USF’s IMSE, and Dr. Yiliang Zhu from the College of Public Health) has developed a novel Dynamic Predictive Optimal (DPO) methodology for developing mitigation and containment strategies for cross-regional pandemic outbreaks. The resultant mitigation strategies focus on efficient allocation of limited stockpiles of vaccines and antiviral drugs, healthcare personnel, and social distancing enforcement resources. Our DPO policy subsumes a large-scale simulation-based optimization model incorporating the input of varying virus epidemiology and social dynamics of the affected regions. The methodology is driven by a modular simulation model which mimics the social and viral dynamics in cross-regional pandemic outbreaks, and features a broad set of output statistics including detailed influenza-related data and measures of lost productivity and medical expenses. The simulation model incorporates an optimization control mechanism, invoked at every new outbreak epoch, to generate mitigation strategies subsuming policies for vaccination, antiviral application, and social distancing for the newly affected region. The objective function of the optimization model incorporates measures of morbidity, mortality, and social distancing translated into the cost of lost productivity and medical expenses. The function embodies the impact of new outbreak(s) and the expected impact of the potential outbreaks spreading from the already affected regions. We implemented our methodology on a simulated four-county outbreak in Florida: Hillsborough, Miami Dade, Duval and Leon. Then, we simulated the four-county outbreak with a governmental policy that assigns resources in proportion to the population of each county. The comparative results show that the DPO methodology’s efficiency supersedes the efficiency of the pro-rata policy—an existent resource allocation policy used by the government. In addition, the results of the DPO policy consistently exhibit less variability which attests to its higher robustness. By Andres Uribe and Diana Prieto,IMSE PhD. students

Da Vinci Facts (from page 2)

The Da Vinci surgical system is the world’s first surgical robot that integrates 3-D high definition (HD) endoscopy and state-of-the-art robotic technologies to virtually enable the surgeon operate on the patient—away from the patient. Following a partnership with Intuitive, the University of South Florida recently acquired the Da Vinci, thereby becoming one of the few universities with the robotic system. The robots’ dexterous arms offer multiple degrees of freedom that seamlessly replicate the human wrist and fingers. These arms are connected to miniaturized surgical tools and a combined camera/localized lighting system, all of which are inserted into the patient’s body through the three or four 5-10mm incisions. The

surgeon sits on an ergonomically designed and computerized console, his head resting on a pad fit with tactile sensors. These sensor mechanisms offer a safety feature that ensures that no command is passed to the robotic arms if the surgeon’s fore head is not resting on the pad. With the hands and feet, the surgeon is able to guide the robotic arms by controlling a collection of buttons, knobs and lever systems. A 3D HD screen is fitted within the console to provide the surgeon with a crystal clear 10 times magnified image of the operation field. By Wilkistar Otieno, IMSE PhD. Student Incoming INFORMS@USF Chapter vice president

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Why should I Join INFORMS@USF?

Volume 4, Issue 1

Few weeks ago, during one of IMSE’s research seminar sessions, the presidents of USF-INFORMS student chapter invited us to join the chapter as members. Almost automatically, one of the students asked one of the most transcendental questions a student could ask: “Why and what’s in it for me?” After fifteen minutes of discussion the president was convinced that it was very important to be a member USF-INFORMS, but the student was convinced otherwise. So we move to the next topic in the agenda and forgot about the heated discussion. Maybe I should forget that question too, but I have heard it too many times in the past, and as a future faculty member I will continue to hear it again and again for generations to come. So I decided to write this article, trying to answer one of the most important questions in every student’s life: Why should I participate in your student organization? It will not increase my GPA; it will not give me any credits, so why should I dedicate part of my busy life to have more activities in my very busy schedule? My answer is simple: it will enforce your CSK skills. The ‘C’ is for ‘competence’. Academic life is highly competitive, ask your professors about how hard they compete to get that NSF grant, or that four pages spot in that important peer-reviewed journal. In work you compete with your co-workers for a better position and with other companies for that client or that project. INFORMS has a lot of competitions—visit www.informs.org and check all the prizes and awards you can get. Such competition foster the strength required for future competition in the work place. The ‘S’ stands for ‘sharing’, because life and work is about teamwork, and teamwork requires people who know how to share their leadership, how to interact and work with

others. When you are in school, you finish your homework and it is over; when you are working, you help the weakest members of your organization to improve, because the success of the company is based on corporate efforts and not individual endeavors. So it is not only about being efficient, it is about being generous with your time. It is about sharing your experiences and dreams, and keeping all the team working towards a common goal. These attributes are not taught in any of your classes! While a student, you only can acquire them through student organizations. Finally, the “K” refers to ‘knowledge’. What are the latest paradigms in your profession; who is who among the companies, labs or universities that would employ or compete against you in the future? Which are the top journals, books and software and their suppliers? Knowing your professional environment gets you inspired and helps you focus on the ultimate BIG PICTURE: You in the future. I think I could summarize my answer in the following way: ‘+ˆ*,~-ˇ/.’ Participation in student organizations is about addition and multiplication, and not about subtracting or dividing. I have good news for you, if you want to become active in the USF-INFORMS chapter. We have a great team of talented students led by Laila Cure and Wilkistar Otieno. Other student organizations include Alpha Pi MU (Α Π М); the Industrial Engineering honors society and the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE) and whose presidents are Wilkistar Otieno ([email protected]) and Ali Mirza ([email protected]) respectively. By Alfredo Santana, IMSE PhD. Student

Fall 2009 INFORMS@USF chapter members and advisor during one of the weekly research meetings. Spring 2008. 6