Our OpEd on Why We Are Stronger Together - Brexit and the Upcoming US Presidential Election

I have been back from beautiful Oxford, England for exactly one month. The memories of the Visiting Fellowship at All Souls College at Oxford University will always be with me from the cameraderie of the Fellows, the wonderful staff and delicious meals, the gardens, my office, and historic Oxford (plus I got a lot of research on supply chains completed).

While in Oxford, we engaged in numerous discussions over meals and afternoon tea and being there during the Trinity term was truly a historic time. The referendum take place on June 23, 2016 and we awoke to the shocking news that Great Britain had voted to exit the European Union (known as Brexit), although Oxford overwhelmingly voted to Remain. Also, we were all anticipating the nominations of the US Presidential candidates. Indeed, many of the conversation would include US politics and Hillary Clinton  or the latest on Trump.

As a researcher and educator but also a blogger I believe that it is very important to share information, commentary,  and opinions with the public.

While still in Oxford and reeling from the vote and the impact that it would have on the British economy and even research funding (plus one of my former doctoral students from UMass Amherst and co-author is a financier in London so we had some great insights as to the possible ramifications of Brexit),  my husband and I sat down that weekend and we wrote the OpEd: Why We Are Stronger Together. We submitted it exclusively to the Daily Hampshire Gazette (DHG) and we received the response quickly on a Sunday with the Editor telling us that it would be published the very next day since he liked it so much.

The  page on which our OpEd appears can be viewed here.

The direct link to the article is here.

One can also read it here.

Our OpEd ends with the following: We are  all stronger together with the free flow of people, ideas, services, and goods.  This enhances the education of our students and the resilience of our communities.

My other commentaries, OpEds, and Letters to the Editors can be viewed on the following page on the Virtual Center for Supernetworks website at the Isenberg School of Management.

Going to Canada and a Letter from Japan

Today is  election day for the President of the US and I am already getting many emails from Europe from colleagues there who are anxious about the outcome -- will it be President Obama for another four years or President Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts?

Needless, to say, I am very anxious about the outcome as well.

The New York Times, last Sunday, had a rather tongue-in-cheek article: At  a Loss? There's Always Canada by Joh Ortved that was commented on in the British press.

I was born in Canada, in Windsor, across the border from Detroit and travel regularly to Canada to give invited seminars and to present papers at conferences. Every time that I cross the border I feel a sense of comfort and recognition.

This week, after the voting is over, and the winner is finalized, I will be off to Ottawa, the capital of Canada.

I will be taking part in the 59th Annual North American Meetings of the Regional Science Association International. and will be delivering the presentation,  "A Dynamic Network Oligopoly Model with Transportation Costs, Product Differentiation, and Quality Competition,"   based on the paper co-authored with a doctoral student of mine, Dong "Michelle" Li. The research behind this paper is funded, in part, by our National Science Foundation (NSF) grant CISE #1111276, for the NeTS: Large: Collaborative Research: Network Innovation Through Choice project awarded to the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

I am a Fellow of the Regional Science Association International (RSAI) and always look forward to this conference, which has a discussant for each paper, and takes place in interesting locations. Last year the conference was in Miami, immediately before the INFORMS conference in Charlotte, which worked out very well. The North American RSAI conference always has very nice social activities, including an RSAI Fellows lunch,  and interesting plenary talks and special sessions. Plus. I enjoy seeing many colleagues from around the globe!

This year, and I hope that the forecasted nor'easter blows through before I board the plane to Canada in which everyone gets an aisle and a window seat simultaneously, we will also be celebrating  Professor David E. Boyce's recent award. Professor Boyce is both an RSAI Fellow and an INFORMS Fellow and a very special colleague.  Dave and I wrote the preface, published in the INFORMS journal, Transportation Science,  to the translation of the Braess paradox (1968) paper that I did with Braess and with my former doctoral student, Tina Wakolbinger (who is now a Full Professor in Austria). I have collaborated on other papers with Professor Boyce, as well.

The Japan RSAI, which celebrated her 50th Anniversary this year,  has awarded Professor Dr. David Boyce a Special Award.   Professor Yoshiro Higano of Tsukuba University shared with me this wonderful news when I was in Gothenburg, Sweden last month. He will be representing Japan RSAI  to present the award to Professor Boyce during a dinner scheduled for Friday evening, 9th November, 2012, in Ottawa.   


I received the lovely invitation letter below, which I very much appreciate.

I am very much looking forward to going to Canada!