Some Favorite Books with Personal Connections

Each year, there are lists of favorite books made.

This past year has been personally a Year of the Book for me.

I just finished correcting the galleys for my new book, which I will be writing more about in future posts.

In this post, I highlight some books that I recently read, reread, or am still working through, which are featured in the photo below. Each of these books also represents a personal connection.

Why Nations Fail was written by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson. Daron is a Professor at MIT and we hosted him in our INFORMS Speaker Series in the Fall of 2008. Our legendary former Dean, Dr. Tom O'Brien, along with the UMass Amherst INFORMS Student Chapter, helped me to plan and sponsor his visit, which was also advertised with our Finance Speaker Series. His wife is Professor Asu Ozdaglar, also of MIT, and she and I were plenary speakers at the NetGCOOP conference in glorious Paris in October 2011. Why Nations Fail is a riveting volume of economic history.

The Idea Factory by Jon Gertner I had written about previously on this blog.since I had received an interesting email from Ronald Capik, who had worked at Bell Labs, about an even earlier post that led to some additional sleuthing work. A photo in The New York Times, although originally labeled as being of Bell Labs researchers, actually was not. Bell Labs was a center of innovation in the US and I knew quite a few individuals  in operations research that had worked there. I often write about leadership, creativity, and innovation on this blog and as a "techie" highly recommend it.

The Universe in Zero Words by Dana Mackenzie, who writes also for AMS and SIAM publications, is a very entertaining book on mathematics as told through equations. It is nicely illustrated and Dana's sense of humor livens up the book. As a lover of math and equations, as well as the history of science, I enjoyed the book very much and told Dana so. He had spoken with me at length about supply chains and the work that we had done also on humanitarian supply chains. And, speaking of supply chains, the book, Sustainable Supply Chains, that was published in 2012, and edited by Professors Tonya Boone, Vaidyanathan Jayaraman, and Ram Ganeshan, is a terrific collection of works on this topic, which is very near and dear to me. My doctoral student, Amir H. Masoumi, and I have a chapter on sustainable blood supply chains in the book, and the other contributors' names any of my readers in operations research or operations management will recognize.


The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe I am presently reading and it will certainly be a book that I will reread. It is a love story written by a son, Will Schwalbe, about his truly amazing mother, Anne Marie, who has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She has raised three children and has had a fascinating career not only as the Admissions Director at Harvard but also as a humanitarian. She emphasizes the importance of kindness and, together, she and her son exchange books and their love of them through doctor's meetings, cancer treatments, and even celebrations. In the book, Anne Marie speaks about the author, Geraldine Brooks, and calls her amazing. She and her son have a discussion about her book, People of the Book. Geraldine, along with her husband, Tony Horwitz (who happens to be a fellow Brown University grad), was a Fellow of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard the same year that I was (2005-2006). We celebrated the Pulitzer Prize that she received for her book, March, that year and she was hard at work then on her book, People of the Book, while we were at Harvard. Some photos of our Radcliffe graduation I have posted here (Geraldine, Tony, and then Dean of Radcliffe, Dr. Drew Gilpin Faust, who is now the President of Harvard are in them as well as other Fellows),

Arc of Justice by Kevin Boyle, which was the recipient of a National Book Award a few years ago, was recommended to me by Professor David E. Boyce at a dinner in honor of him and hosted by Professor Higano of Japan. Coincidentally at the dinner, which took place in Ottawa, Canada, I was seated next to the proud father-in-law of Boyle, Professor Art Getis, who, like Professor Boyce, is a luminary in the discipline of Regional Science. Professor Boyce told me that he could not put the book down!

Two of my favorite books are on outstanding educational institutions. The book by the Moorheads -- long-time teachers at Deerfield Academy, my daughter's alma mater, is A Pictorial History of the Academy. It is a stunning volume that I enjoy perusing, time and time again. Mrs. Moorhead was my daughter's French teacher her senior year at Deerfield and we have enjoyed seeing both Mr. and Mrs. Moorhead at Amherst Chinese Foods. Lucky are children who have such special educators in their lives! The Biography of a College by Albert W. Gendebien, is the third volume in the history of Lafayette College, my husband's undergraduate alma mater, located in Easton, Pennsylvania. We met when he was a grad student at Brown University and I was a freshman at Brown. He still stays in touch with some of his former professors there and the campus on College Hill is beautiful! We visit there quite regularly.

Beginning Again is a book of poems by my neighbor in Amherst, Professor Frederick C. Tillis. The book was delivered to our door by Professor Tillis and I return regularly to his poems that provide solace and that also remind me so much of our neighborhood. Each year, Professor Tillis and his wife are the recipients of our holiday cookie plates.  We very much enjoy our conversations with him!

Computer Programming is Good for the Brain and the Soul

Being creative is part of our DNA.

Some of us are artists, musicians, scientists, writers, educators, technologists and engineers, leaders of corporations, doctors and nurses, and/or entrepreneurs.

Being creative requires focus to accomplish the task and in this world of increasing distractions and interruptions (some of it caused by advances in computer technology) I argue that computer programming is good for the brain and for the soul.

Computer programming requires precision, attention to detail, creativity in terms of identifying the appropriate data structures and the design of the software, and knowledge of the underlying algorithm(s), whether developed by you or by someone else. You need to have patience and stamina and having curiosity also helps. I am always eager to see how the software programs that I develop will work. We strive for correctness of our codes and of the algorithms that we implement, with the realization that, even if initially developed as research, they may eventually be applied to solve problems ranging from those in transportation, energy, and infrastructure, to healthcare, supply chains, financial analysis, and even disaster planning and management.

In writing a computer program you are creating something that is useful and something that may be quite novel and original.

I have written previously about the importance of including computer programming in curricula and hope that every child before graduating from high school gets a chance to explore the power (and joy) of computer programming. Such experiences would add to a deeper understanding of technology and the underlying algorithms and would create, I believe, a richer appreciation of mathematics and its role in our world today.


Recently, I have been working on different computer programs (software codes) for game theory problems in applications ranging from the redesign of the Internet, on a project funded by NSF,  to competition in supply chain networks with outsourcing. There is great satisfaction in seeing the mathematical models that one develops and implements algorithms for actually being solved with code that you have programmed yourself. It is very rewarding to see your focus and efforts resulting in what is a type of product. One can then also address and answer so many interesting questions through simulations!

Hence, computer programming is good for the soul, too!

When Favorite Restaurants in Harvard Square Close

A favorite restaurant is more than a place for good food. It is a place where memories are made and great times and conversations treasured.

On Friday, my family and I were in Boston, and we were very much looking forward to have dinner in Cambridge, after hours of walking.

Having spent a full year as a Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard on my previous sabbatical, and having also been at MIT for two years as a Visiting Scholar and Visiting Professor, earlier, I am very fond of Cambridge. Of course, I could even go back to my Brown University days when running track at the Harvard stadium was great fun. I used to do the two mile.

We were especially looking forward to dining at the Cafe of India, which has (and as we found out "had")  the best Indian food this side of the UK. In the summer, the windows of the restaurant would be open and the delicious smell of curry would permeate Brattle Street. It was located next door to Burdick's, with delicious chocolates and pastries. My year at Harvard I had an apartment on 83 Brattle Street and my office was in Putnam House where most of the other Science Fellows (only 12 of us that year) were based.

I had dined so many times while in Cambridge at the Cafe of India and even took my most recent PhD student, who is now an Assistant Professor, Dr. Min Yu, there after the NetSci 2010 conference at MIT in May. This was the first time she had ever eaten Indian food and she loved it. The photos above were taken at that dinner.


We were shocked to see that Cafe of India had closed, after two decades of operation,  and I found an article on its closure in the Boston Business Journal.

So up the street we marched only to find that Casablanca had also shuttered its doors and it had been an institution since 1955! Today's Boston Globe has an article on this closing.

Within a few months of one another, these two favorite restaurants of ours had shuttered their doors.

Below,  I have posted some photos of wonderful meals with great friends form the US, France, and even Italy, all with whom I had spent time during that great year at Harvard.

We are left with memories and, luckily, a few photos, and papers written as well as books. We'll have to find new places to meet and to make new traditions.

As for other favorite restaurants that have also left Harvard Square, perhaps some of you remember Cafe Paradiso for gelato and Italian cookies, Greenhouse for great breakfasts, and Swiss Alps, for delicious dinners.

Senator John Kerry is a Great Choice for Secretary of State

Today, President Obama nominated our long-serving Massachusetts Senator, John Kerry, as his choice for Secretary of State, to replace Hillary Clinton who will be stepping down. She issued a statement commending this choice.

I remember fondly hearing from Senator Kerry when I received my first Fulbright. He wrote me a letter of congratulations. He did not need to do this but the fact that he noticed, cared, and took the time to do this thoughtful act, despite his very busy schedule, speaks to his value of international exchange programs such as the Fulbright program. The Fulbright program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and is administered by CIES, a division of the Institute of International Education. How appropriate that, if approved, and all should go smoothly, he will be the Secretary of State and will even oversee the Fulbright Program!

Some reflections, with photos,  on my first Fulbright, which was as a Distinguished Chair in Economics at the SOWI Business School at the University of Innsbruck, Austria were published on the Fulbright Scholar Program website.  I had this Fulbright just over a decade ago and also served as a Senior Fulbright Specialist in Business Administration, more recently, in 2008, at the University of Catania in Italy.

Universities Remember the Victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School Massacre in Newtown

It has been a very difficult week and, this morning, we are marking the one week anniversary of the massacre of innocents at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, which took away innocent, beautiful lives on a golden morning during what is considered a holiday season.

Everyone in the US continues to mourn and, as we go about our daily lives, we have often stopped to reflect and to remember the children and the educators and to thank the first responders.

At 9:30AM today, we will be having a moment of silence at UMass Amherst, as we were informed by our Chancellor, and the bells will peel 26 times, to honor the 20 young children who lost their lives and the six educators.

Nature is mourning as well -- we are experiencing torrentials rains and high winds.

As we all reflect on this senseless, horrific tragedy, those of us who are educators can't help to try and ease the pain somehow in whatever way that we can.

Some universities have had alums die in the massacre and have had children of alums perish -- my husband's university, the University of Hartford, for example, which has set up a Support page.

The University of Connecticut has established a memorial scholarship.

In times like these, we need to embrace one another for support and to watch out for one another.

Make the most of each minute that you are on planet earth.

A Lot of Great News from the Supernetworks Center

It has been a real privilege serving as the Director of the Virtual Center for Supernetworks at the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst.

I founded the Center back in 2001 and,  in 2003, the Supernetworks Laboratory for Computation and Visualization was established. The Center and Lab have hosted many luminaries from the research and corporate worlds and even from the non-profit sector.

We have always emphasized scholarship and education and our website is regularly updated. It also provides a terrific timeline of visitors, research, talks given, and many other activities that the Center and Center Associates have been involved in.

I always say that, by working together,  we can accomplish so much more and I take great pride in the research that we have done on network systems addressing such important issues as: transportation and  network vulnerability, humanitarian and healthcare supply chains, financial networks and risk management, sustainable transportation, decision-making on complex networks, including e-commerce, and, more recently, even the redesign of the Internet to offer more Choices. We have tried to advance both applications as well as methodologies.

Our research and associated activities have garnered support from many different foundations, from the National Science Foundation to AT&T, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Institute for International Education, among others. I have also used funds from the John F. Smith Memorial Fund to support the Center's activities and its various missions.

As the 2012 year draws to a close, I am pleased to share with you the 2013 Winter edition of The Supernetwork Sentinel, which is the Center's newsletter.

All editions of our newsletter can be found and downloaded here.

Wishing everyone a safe, healthy, and prosperous New 2013 Year!

Thank you for your support!

Dynamics of Disasters Symposium at AAAS in Boston

There is much that by working together we can achieve.

In particular, by bringing disciplines together to harness our skills and expertise, there is some hope that we can help to relieve some of the suffering associated with disasters, whether natural or man-made.

I have organized a symposium for the AAAS 2013 Annual Meeting, which will take place February 14-18, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts. The symposium, entitled, Dynamics of Disasters: Harnessing the Science of Networks To Save Lives, will take place on Sunday, February 17. at the Hynes Convention Center.

I would like to thank the AAAS and AMS for supporting the proposal that described this symposium. 

I would also like to thank the experts who are luminaries in their fields of engineering, operations research and management science, and optimization and supply chains and logistics, for agreeing to take part in it. Without them. and their terrific work, this symposium would not be possible. 

The discussants are: Dr. Jose Holguin-Veras, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Dr. Tina Wakolbinger, Vienna University of Economics and Business in Austria.

The speakers are:

Dr. David McLaughlin, University of Massachusetts Amherst, who will be speaking on
Chasing Storms Across Disciplines,

Dr. Laura McLay, Virginia Commonwealth University, who will speak about
The Emergency Medical and Fire Calls During Severe Weather Events, and 

Dr. Panos M. Pardalos, University of Florida, whose presentation is on Assessing the Vulnerability of Evacuation Plans via Critical Element Detection.

The motivation for organizing such a timely symposium was as follows: The number of disasters is growing as well as the number of people of affected by disasters, with accompanying societal and economic losses as vividly demonstrated by Superstorm Sandy and Hurricanes Katrina and Irene. The understanding of the dynamics of natural or man-made disasters is, hence, a problem of great importance globally.

However, due to the inherent nature of disasters, there are complex challenges: the critical infrastructure, including the transportation, logistical and communication systems, may have been severely negatively impacted and their functionality compromised; there is a short time window in which to respond with the critical needs products, which must be delivered in order to prevent loss of life and human suffering, and there may be great uncertainty due to the disruptions, among other complications.

Moreover, there may be different organizations competing for resources and the complex interactions may result in inadequate financing, inappropriate coordination and response, congestion, inadequate delivery of supplies, including of relief personnel, etc. This symposium focuses on the dynamics of disasters, through the prism of mathematical modeling and the science of networks, to address such issues as prediction, communications, response and recovery, and the resiliency of evacuation networks. This symposium is intended to be accessible to a general scientific audience and will communicate the effectiveness of a multidisciplinary approach for the investigation of critical real-world phenomena. 

We hope that you can join us for the AAAS 2013 Annual Meeting and for our symposium.