Wherever you may have been this weekend, it was hard not to notice the excitement surrounding the 2010 World Cup final in South Africa.
I was in cosmopolitan, gorgeous NYC this past weekend, which was filled not only with locals who weren't at the Hamptons, but also with many tourists from around the world.
Yesterday, the scores during the Spain vs. The Netherlands final match were relayed from taxi driver to taxi driver (these we saw parked) and from tourist to tourist so one could always catch the score even while walking.
As the German octopus named Paul "predicted," Spain beat The Netherlands and the final score was 1-0. Neither of these teams had ever advanced to the finals so it was a great achievement for both. The day before Germany beat Uruguay to receive third place in this 32 team World Cup.
Thank you, South Africa, for a month of great sports in the form of the game of soccer that brought fans around the globe to focus on the exciting games in your country. It was the first time that the World Cup was hosted on the continent of Africa and South Africa should be congratulated for the success of this month-long sports event!
Monday, July 12, 2010
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Dr. James Simons -- A Former Professor Who Gives Back Big to State University
Dr. James "Jim" Simons is an amazing man.
He is a mathematician and a financier and the President of Renaissance Technologies, a well-known, very successful private investment firm and hedge fund. As the former chairperson of the Department of Mathematics at SUNY Stony Brook in the late 1960s to the mid-1970s, he built up this department to one of the top in the country.
Since leaving SUNY Stony Brook, where his service and contributions were laudable enough, he and his wife have not stopped supporting that state university.
His wife Marilyn, who has a PhD in economics from SUNY Stony Brook, has served since 1994 as President of the Simons Foundation, a charitable organization supporting researchers and institutions conducting advanced work in the basic sciences and mathematics, with a major emphasis on autism. In February 2008, the foundation gave $60 million to this state university, which is one of 64 institutions in this public university system. The press release can be read here.
Interestingly, SUNY Stony Brook offered me a tenure-track Assistant Professorship in the Department of Applied Math and Statistics, after my interview there, while I was completing my PhD in Applied Math with a specialty in Operations Research at Brown University, but I declined. Our new Provost at UMass Amherst, Dr. James Staros, came from SUNY Stony Brook.
James Simons is now one of the world's wealthiest men (see where knowing and loving mathematics can take you) and the Simons Center at SUNY Stony Brook carries his family's name. He is the son of a shoemaker from Massachusetts and received his degrees from MIT and UC Berkeley.
The New York Times has an interesting and timely article on private donations to state universities. Today many state universities in the US are suffering from shortfalls of support from their respective states. Dr. Simons believes that donors do not want to support failing institutions and have their donations simply used as plugins and patchups for state funding gaps (or should I say, "gorges"). He is supporting/proposing different tuitions for individual state university institutions and this has resulted in some serious debates. You can read the article in the Times here.
What Dr. Simons has done and continues to do in support of his State University, although he is not even an employee (nor a student there and not even an alum), is outstanding and laudatory.
I wish that more would have his vision and his courage and that others would see and understand the essential role that public, in addition to private ones, universities play in our nation.
I give annually to my state university and employer for a scholarship fund for students and the best thank you that I get is the excellence of our students and their joy in learning.
He is a mathematician and a financier and the President of Renaissance Technologies, a well-known, very successful private investment firm and hedge fund. As the former chairperson of the Department of Mathematics at SUNY Stony Brook in the late 1960s to the mid-1970s, he built up this department to one of the top in the country.
Since leaving SUNY Stony Brook, where his service and contributions were laudable enough, he and his wife have not stopped supporting that state university.
His wife Marilyn, who has a PhD in economics from SUNY Stony Brook, has served since 1994 as President of the Simons Foundation, a charitable organization supporting researchers and institutions conducting advanced work in the basic sciences and mathematics, with a major emphasis on autism. In February 2008, the foundation gave $60 million to this state university, which is one of 64 institutions in this public university system. The press release can be read here.
Interestingly, SUNY Stony Brook offered me a tenure-track Assistant Professorship in the Department of Applied Math and Statistics, after my interview there, while I was completing my PhD in Applied Math with a specialty in Operations Research at Brown University, but I declined. Our new Provost at UMass Amherst, Dr. James Staros, came from SUNY Stony Brook.
James Simons is now one of the world's wealthiest men (see where knowing and loving mathematics can take you) and the Simons Center at SUNY Stony Brook carries his family's name. He is the son of a shoemaker from Massachusetts and received his degrees from MIT and UC Berkeley.
The New York Times has an interesting and timely article on private donations to state universities. Today many state universities in the US are suffering from shortfalls of support from their respective states. Dr. Simons believes that donors do not want to support failing institutions and have their donations simply used as plugins and patchups for state funding gaps (or should I say, "gorges"). He is supporting/proposing different tuitions for individual state university institutions and this has resulted in some serious debates. You can read the article in the Times here.
What Dr. Simons has done and continues to do in support of his State University, although he is not even an employee (nor a student there and not even an alum), is outstanding and laudatory.
I wish that more would have his vision and his courage and that others would see and understand the essential role that public, in addition to private ones, universities play in our nation.
I give annually to my state university and employer for a scholarship fund for students and the best thank you that I get is the excellence of our students and their joy in learning.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Haiti 6 Months After -- Unblock the Roads and Fragile Networks
One year ago, our book, Fragile Networks: Identifying Vulnerabilities and Synergies in an Uncertain World, was published and was recently noted by the Library Journal to be a top selling book in technology and engineering.6 months ago, on January 12, 2010, a huge earthquake hit Haiti and awakened the world to the wrought devastation.
I wrote regularly in this blog about the earthquake, the resulting human suffering and loss of lives, and the loss of critical infrastructure from the roads to telecommunications, plus hospitals and even schools, which only added to the suffering of the survivors. I also called for better coordination among the stakeholders and especially the humanitarian organizations for the provision of necessary supplies and decent logistics.
Today, The New York Times has an OpEd piece written by my colleagues at Georgia Tech, which is right on target, and which speaks to one of the major themes of our Fragile Networks book: that the identification of the critical network links before (and after) their degradation and even ultimate devastation is essential.
According to the OpEd piece, Haiti's External Weight, by Professors Desroches, Ergun, and Swann, 6 months after the earthquake: twenty million to 25 million cubic yards of debris fill the streets, yards, sidewalks and canals of Port-au-Prince — enough to fill five Louisiana Superdomes.
Debris is one of the most significant issues keeping Haitians from rebuilding Port-au-Prince and resuming normal lives. Much of the stuff has been left in place or simply moved to the center or the sides of roads. Some streets with especially large piles of refuse are impassable. As a result, it can take hours to travel just a few miles. Meanwhile, schools, hospitals, businesses and homes remain blocked.
Amazingly, only about 5% of the original debris has been properly disposed of and there are serious concerns about the ultimate impact of the debris on the environment, as well.
Clearly, the efficiency and performance of the transportation and logistical networks in Haiti have been severely affected and degraded without a timely debris removal. Since such networks provide the infrastructure for the movement of people and goods, how can Haiti's economy and its citizens move forward?!
Crises don't end once the media attention dissipates.
Global Healthcare Supply Chains and Good Job News
I have been writing in this blog about our latest research on supply chain network design for critical needs products from vaccines to medicines and on hospital supply chains.
I was delighted to read in the Boston Globe that Sanofi-Aventis, one of the world's largest drug makers, is expanding its operations in Massachusetts and that this will mean more jobs -- jobs of importance and meaning.
According to the article: Sanofi-Aventis SA, is planning a $65 million expansion in Cambridge that will create about 300 jobs, making it the latest foreign pharmaceutical giant to invest in Massachusetts. The Paris-based drug maker is in the process of leasing space in Cambridgeport, where it will establish a joint headquarters for a new cancer division.
As you may recall (what a feeling of deja vu) last summer, at this time, the world was battling the H1N1 virus from Argentina (coincidentally, my most recent international trip in the summer of 2010) to China to the United States.
Sanofi-Aventis was one of only a handful of H1N1 vaccine producers and, given the low number of vaccine manufacturers, and the various challenges with the production of this vaccine, my research group began a study on multiproduct supply chain network design with applications to healthcare. Clearly, with fixed capacities, some of the vaccine producers had to switch from production of the annual flu vaccine to the challenging H1N1 vaccine.
We are pleased that the study has resulted in a paper/report, "Multiproduct Supply Chain Network Design with Applications to Healthcare," which, given the timeliness of the topic, we are making available to our readers through the Virtual Center for Supernetworks. The research allows pharmaceutical firms to redesign their supply chains in an optimal way to enable the cost-minimizing production of multiple vaccines and medicines with demand satisfaction.
Research at Business Schools is increasingly focusing not only on how wealth can be created but also how it can be done in a socially responsible way.
I was delighted to read in the Boston Globe that Sanofi-Aventis, one of the world's largest drug makers, is expanding its operations in Massachusetts and that this will mean more jobs -- jobs of importance and meaning.
According to the article: Sanofi-Aventis SA, is planning a $65 million expansion in Cambridge that will create about 300 jobs, making it the latest foreign pharmaceutical giant to invest in Massachusetts. The Paris-based drug maker is in the process of leasing space in Cambridgeport, where it will establish a joint headquarters for a new cancer division.
As you may recall (what a feeling of deja vu) last summer, at this time, the world was battling the H1N1 virus from Argentina (coincidentally, my most recent international trip in the summer of 2010) to China to the United States.
Sanofi-Aventis was one of only a handful of H1N1 vaccine producers and, given the low number of vaccine manufacturers, and the various challenges with the production of this vaccine, my research group began a study on multiproduct supply chain network design with applications to healthcare. Clearly, with fixed capacities, some of the vaccine producers had to switch from production of the annual flu vaccine to the challenging H1N1 vaccine.
We are pleased that the study has resulted in a paper/report, "Multiproduct Supply Chain Network Design with Applications to Healthcare," which, given the timeliness of the topic, we are making available to our readers through the Virtual Center for Supernetworks. The research allows pharmaceutical firms to redesign their supply chains in an optimal way to enable the cost-minimizing production of multiple vaccines and medicines with demand satisfaction.
Research at Business Schools is increasingly focusing not only on how wealth can be created but also how it can be done in a socially responsible way.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Spain Beats Germany so It's Spain vs. The Netherlands in the 2010 World Cup Final
Germany just lost to Spain with a brilliant goal header giving Spain a win with a score of 1-0.
The final game will take place this Sunday in South Africa with The Netherlands playing Spain for the World Cup championship. This will be Spain's first World Cup final appearance.
I studied both Spanish and German so did not favor either team.
Amazing, though, to have 2 European soccer teams be the finalists of this great World Cup tournament in South Africa.
The final game will take place this Sunday in South Africa with The Netherlands playing Spain for the World Cup championship. This will be Spain's first World Cup final appearance.
I studied both Spanish and German so did not favor either team.
Amazing, though, to have 2 European soccer teams be the finalists of this great World Cup tournament in South Africa.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
The Netherlands Beats Uruguay in a Frenetic Finale!
The Netherlands beat Uruguay with a score of 3-2 to advance to the finals of the 2010 World Cup. The game, as the announcer said, was "frenetic" and a heart-stopper.
Now we have Germany vs. Spain tomorrow and then the winner of that game will play The Netherlands. Amazing to have a final of this World Cup of only European teams.
Uruguay, a country of only about 3 million, who won both the World Cup in 1930 and 1950, should be congratulated for its terrific game today (especially without one of their star players, Suarez, who was red carded and had to sit out this match). (Plus, that second goal by the Dutch may have been questionable.)
To all of my colleagues and friends in The Netherlands, congratulations! The headers and athleticism of your soccer team have made your matches super exciting to watch at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa!
History has already been made since no European team has ever won a World Cup outside of Europe!
Now we have Germany vs. Spain tomorrow and then the winner of that game will play The Netherlands. Amazing to have a final of this World Cup of only European teams.
Uruguay, a country of only about 3 million, who won both the World Cup in 1930 and 1950, should be congratulated for its terrific game today (especially without one of their star players, Suarez, who was red carded and had to sit out this match). (Plus, that second goal by the Dutch may have been questionable.)
To all of my colleagues and friends in The Netherlands, congratulations! The headers and athleticism of your soccer team have made your matches super exciting to watch at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa!
History has already been made since no European team has ever won a World Cup outside of Europe!
The Greening of the O.R. and Hospitals and Corporate Social Responsibility
Although we are living in a world of "throwaways" we are seeing an exciting convergence of corporate social responsibility, green logistics, healthcare, and even humanitarian operations through the recycling, redesign, and reprocessing of medical products and associated medical waste, so there is HOPE!
Interestingly, as The New York Times is reporting, in the article, "In a World of Throwaways, Making a Dent in Medical Waste," by Ingfei Chen, the biggest source of medical refuse is the operating room (O.R.), with 20-30% of a hospital's waste.
A nonprofit group in VA, Practice Greenhealth, is now working on reducing the environmental footprint of health care institutions with its Greening of the O.R. initiative, which is focusing on identifying the best sustainable practices for reducing operating room garbage, energy consumption, and indoor air quality problems, while lowering expenses and improving safety -- all fantastic goals! Reducing the waste associated with medical supplies and equipment,which can be achieved through recycling and reprocessing, for example, can save on new purchases and can also reduce landfill fees and incineration costs.
For example, according to the article, the Hospital Corporation of America, which owns 163 hospitals, eliminated 94 tons of waste last year through the reprocessing of medical supplies!
I am reminded of the similarity between medical waste and recycling and reprocessing issues to that of electronic recycling, or e-cycling, a topic that I have written about in the past, with Dr. Fuminori Toyasaki. Our paper, "Reverse Supply Chain Management and Electronic Waste Recycling: A Multitiered Network Equilibrium Framework for E-Cycling," remains as one of the top cited papers in Transportation Research E.
Dr. Ralph Pennino, the chief of plastic surgery at Rochester General Hospital in upstate New York, notes that surgeons have agreed to use standardized supply kits selected to cover most of their needs while leaving little unused, so that they can “work systems out so we don’t have anything to reprocess." This is said beautifully and speaks to the importance of designing health care supply chains and medical products accordingly, a topic that we have also been writing about, and where we specifically allow decision-makers to assign costs associated with oversupply/waste.
Interestingly, as The New York Times is reporting, in the article, "In a World of Throwaways, Making a Dent in Medical Waste," by Ingfei Chen, the biggest source of medical refuse is the operating room (O.R.), with 20-30% of a hospital's waste.
A nonprofit group in VA, Practice Greenhealth, is now working on reducing the environmental footprint of health care institutions with its Greening of the O.R. initiative, which is focusing on identifying the best sustainable practices for reducing operating room garbage, energy consumption, and indoor air quality problems, while lowering expenses and improving safety -- all fantastic goals! Reducing the waste associated with medical supplies and equipment,which can be achieved through recycling and reprocessing, for example, can save on new purchases and can also reduce landfill fees and incineration costs.
For example, according to the article, the Hospital Corporation of America, which owns 163 hospitals, eliminated 94 tons of waste last year through the reprocessing of medical supplies!
I am reminded of the similarity between medical waste and recycling and reprocessing issues to that of electronic recycling, or e-cycling, a topic that I have written about in the past, with Dr. Fuminori Toyasaki. Our paper, "Reverse Supply Chain Management and Electronic Waste Recycling: A Multitiered Network Equilibrium Framework for E-Cycling," remains as one of the top cited papers in Transportation Research E.
Dr. Ralph Pennino, the chief of plastic surgery at Rochester General Hospital in upstate New York, notes that surgeons have agreed to use standardized supply kits selected to cover most of their needs while leaving little unused, so that they can “work systems out so we don’t have anything to reprocess." This is said beautifully and speaks to the importance of designing health care supply chains and medical products accordingly, a topic that we have also been writing about, and where we specifically allow decision-makers to assign costs associated with oversupply/waste.
Dr. Pennino notes that leftover items are donated to InterVol, a nonprofit organization started in 1989 by him. Each week, its volunteers gather about 8,000 pounds of unused supplies and reusable equipment from regional health care facilities, then ship the stock to clinics in more than two dozen countries, including Somalia and Haiti. This is an example of the best in green logistics, healthcare, and humanitarian operations!
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