Terrific Experience as a Summer Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University

The past several months, I have been a Summer Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study (RIAS) at Harvard University.  In 2005-2006, I had been a Fellow at RIAS, and previous Fellows can apply to return for the summer. When I became aware of such an opportunity, I applied, and was thrilled to be selected as a Summer Fellow.

Last year I was a Visiting Fellow at All Souls College at Oxford University, and for 4 summers prior, I had spent time as a Visiting Professor at the School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. I believe that, as an academic, one should put oneself in new surroundings to garner inspiration from. This helps in terms of research and personal growth, which one can then utilize even in teaching.

I thought it would be interesting to head back to Cambridge, Massachusetts and to explore another intellectual center. Since during the year I am based at UMass Amherst this made for a much easier move than the past couple of summers. Remarkably, although Amherst is physically only about 90 minutes away from Cambridge it is very different since it is quite rural.

Living this summer at 83 Brattle Street, which is only two blocks from Harvard Square, as we had back in 2005-2006, made for a 5 minute walk to Radcliffe. The Fellows are now housed in beautiful Byerly Hall in the Radcliffe Yard.

The research projects that I was focusing on this summer included developing and solving game theory models for disaster relief and blood supply chains. With a corner office in Byerly Hall and with a view of a garden and fountain, I could not help but be inspired.  I had asked for a standing desk, and loved working at it, equipped in the morning with a latte from a neighboring cafe.

Immediately I felt welcome, by meeting other Fellows over the years, and seeing staff that had been here when I was at RIAS in 2005-2006. I enjoyed conversations with a novelist, physicists, a biochemist, applied mathematicians, and anthropologists, to name just a few of the disciplines represented.

RIAS, being at Harvard, was also a magnet for many visitors, and I was delighted to be able to have my doctoral students visit, and to get together with other colleagues at Harvard and former students from UMass Amherst as well, and even relatives, with Harvard faculty included.

 

 

Radcliffe provided a peaceful, beautiful environment and I am so grateful that when I needed a room with a landline for a radio interview, one was found for me. It was a pleasure being interviewed for the Dr. Matt Townsend Show based on my research on critical infrastructure.

The lunches that the Fellows indulged in at RIAS helped to fortify us as did the conversations and the various seminars.

Since arriving in early June, I managed to prepare (and they were all delivered) 7 different talks, some of which I have posted, including one on June 21st at Radcliffe. We also started  the process of  editing of the new Dynamics of Disasters volume with Ilias S. Kotsireas and Panos M. Pardalos, based on the conference that we co-organized and that took place in early July in Greece. 
I also completed three papers, which were submitted for publication, and revised two others.

The friendliness of the administrators and staff at Radcliffe and the surrounding community added to the wonderful experience. The research continues and support by RIAS is being gratefully acknowledged. RIAS, with its nurturing of creativity, scholarship, and interdisciplinary research,  will always be a second home for me and for this I am extremely thankful.

A Historic Week for Oxford University and England

This is a truly momentous week and it is fascinating to be living in Oxford, England while history is going to be made. Since late April I have been a Visiting Fellow at All Souls College at Oxford University and I have been writing about the experience.

This Thursday, June 23,  England will be voting on the referendum on the European Union, that is, whether to Remain or to Leave.  The term Brexit, which has been top news not only in England, but also in the United States, refers to Britain exiting the European Union.

Many of the discussions at the luncheons that the Fellows attend at All Souls College have been around this issue with the majority of Fellows that I have been speaking with definitely favoring to Remain in the European Union. As someone whose passion is scientific research there are clear advantages to Remain. Researchers and scholars in England can avail themselves of European Union grants and collaborations. I have even served on the Advisory Board of a well-funded European Union grant. With Brexit, it would become much more difficult to secure research funding and to have multicountry research projects funded. Also, the free movement of those in the EU provides for a great vitality and energy and also spurs innovation and fresh ideas.

Lately, frankly, as I check out both CNN.com and BBC.com these websites' top stories tend to be identical so that I sometimes wonder whether I am in the US or in England. Now our hearts are breaking because of the horrific murder of Jo Cox, the MP (Member of Parliament) in broad daylight.as she was going about her work. The mother of two small children, ages 3 and 5, who had been elected in may 2015,  she had worked as the policy chief in Oxfam in Oxford and her husband works for Save the Children. To have a mentally ill individual kill such a shining light has created a pall over all of us. Her husband' tribute was incredibly touching and now every time that I walk along the Thames I will think of her since she lived with her family on the river in a house boat. She was for Remain. Even my neighbor from Amherst sent me an email yesterday expressing her shock and horror at this terrible tragedy.

On Wednesday, we will be taking part in honorary degree celebrations at Oxford University, where 10 will be honored, including the Nobel laureate in Economic Sciences, Paul Krugman, whose Opeds in The New York Times on the potential impacts of a Brexit I have been reading, as well as Professor Millie Dresselhaus of MIT, whom I had met when I was a Visiting Scholar and Visiting Professor there.  It is  a tradition for All Souls College to host the luncheon after the ceremony, and I received the nice invitation below for it. I would have also marched but I did not bring my Brown University cap and gown with me since I already had a lot to carry for more than two months in England.

And this coming Friday, after we have the results of the vote on the referendum, we will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Visiting Fellows program at All Souls College with many Visiting Fellows returning to Oxford.  Below is a photo that the Visiting Fellows at All Souls College took recently after a delicious dinner and wonderful lecture. Included in the photo are also the Warden, Sir John Vickers, and the Dean of the Visiting Fellows, Professor Simon Hornblower. The photo was taken at the Codrington Library.  We are the Visiting Fellows for the Trinity Term this year. As a senior Fellow told me recently, he believes that the best part of All Souls College is its Visiting Fellows program and that the college admitted women as Fellow.s

The full day program next Friday is splendid and is featured below and I hope to share photos with you of both the honorary degree recipients and the Visiting Fellows program later in the week. Women were admitted as Fellows at All Souls College only in 1979.

 

Inspiring Discussion with Kofi Annan, Former Secretary General of the United Nations, at Oxford University

Some of the wonderful aspects of being a Visiting Fellow at All Souls College at Oxford University is the amazing people that I have met, the great speakers that I have heard, and the special events that I have attended.

Today, we were greatly honored to have Kofi Annan, the former Secretary General of the United Nations, and also Nobel Peace Prize recipient, come to Oxford, specifically, the beautiful Blavatnik Building of Government, for a discussion of the United Nations in the 21st Century. The moderator was Professor Wood. I was thrilled to hear him acknowledge Ed Mortimer in the audience, whom I have had lunch with at All Souls College since he is a Fellow, and we had a fabulous conversation on how he used to write speeches for Annan when he worked for the United Nations.

Kofi Annan was brilliant and just the other day I read in my International New York Times here as to how charismatic, charming, and successful of a leader he had been of the United Nations for almost a decade. He is now 78 years of age and his charm, sense of humor, dedication to saving lives were vividly apparent during today's discussion. He held what is considered one of the toughest jobs in the world.

After being introduced by Professor Wood, he told a delightful story how, after stepping down from the United Nations, he went with his wife to Italy for 3 months and wanted essentially no communication with the outside world and that included no newspapers. Venturing out to Como (a place I have come to love during my two stays at the Rockefeller Foundation's Bellagio Center there) he thought he may have been recognized only to be told that he was the actor, Morgan Freeman. I must admit there is some resemblance!

Since stepping down from the United Nations, he has been very active with his Kofi Annan Foundation and is regularly called upon to assist in international affairs and mediation, including serving as a special envoy to Syria. This he eventually stepped down from because he said the parties would not stop fighting one another. He said it is hard for him to say no if he can save one life of a child or of a woman. His sincerity  and great intelligence were apparent throughout the event today.

He emphasized what matters to him: finding peace and stability, sustainable development, the rule of law, and respect for human rights.

He said that when he looks at inequality, at hunger in the world, he sees a lack of trust in leadership and politicians building on anger of the people.

He told the many students in the audience to not only go into government and law but also into the private sector since much can be accomplished for good from this sector.

He emphasized the concept of the responsibility to protect and some crimes are too horrible to ignore so interventions are needed.  He said that there is a list of questions that must be answered before military intervention.

After Kofi Annan's remarks, it was time to open up questions from the audience with students' questions being first answered.

As to how to manage migration effectively and the crisis now in Europe, Annan noted that if the countries had worked together from the onset that there would not be such division now. He emphasized that compassion is needed and although politicians tend to chase votes, people are not stupid. He also said that 40% of founders of Fortune 500 companies were immigrants.

After a student brought up a recent OpEd in The New York Times written by a former UN employee who said that the inefficiency there was extremely problematic (and which I had read), Annan agreed that the UN needs more efficiency and reforms but that it is also up to the member states.

Something that he said that resonated very much with me was that holding many discussions over issues was like scientists testing different hypotheses and, ultimately, you may have a breakthrough, so it is important to keep those discussions going.

His advice to students and those who may want to work for the United Nations was to, once you got an assignment, to analyze it, and determine what you can contribute to it and how long it will take you, and then follow through. He has always used such ideas in his career, which has been brilliant.

He also mentioned that if you are creative you can get others to move with you.

He said that he would get impossible mandates from the Security Council, but that he would break down the task into manageable components.

Sadly, he said that he does not see any movement towards peace between Israel and Palestine.

Professor Wood emphasized the brilliance of the discussion and I concur! And, when he noted the importance of delivery of humanitarian relief supplies, I thought of the course on Humanitarian Logistics and Healthcare that I teach at the Isenberg School each spring and could not help but be inspired.

At the end, Professor Wood announced a special partnership with Africa, including Nigeria and Ghana, the country where Annan was born, to bring scholars to Oxford, and also to support a Visiting Fellow which is terrific.

First Month as a Visiting Fellow at Oxford University in England

I have now officially been a Visiting Fellow at All Souls College at Oxford University in England for one month (with a sojourn back for 3 days to the US for my daughter's college graduation).
The buildings at All Souls College are magnificent.

Below is a photo of my office door and a photo of the black gown that I wear to dinners at All Souls College. Seeing these upon my arrival made me feel immediately welcome.

The view from my office continues to inspire and I work to the sounds of the fountain in the garden outside of it.

I have been blogging about the experience but thought it made sense to take stock of what the first month has meant to me. Plus, I am often asked at the delicious fellowship meals (lunches and dinners) as to how my work is going and how am I doing. I am researching supply chains while a Visiting Fellow and, specifically, focusing on capturing quality and its preservation/degradation under competition in networks with applications including food.  Given the wonderful fellowship here and community, which includes the delicious meals and conversations as well as tea and coffee that follow the topic is quite timely, I must say. I have enjoyed eating fish and chips with economics Fellows and Professor Glenn Loury of my alma mater, Brown University.

I've also enjoyed conversations including with Professor Ted Sider who is a Visiting Fellow with me and a notable UMass Amherst PhD alum (he is a philosopher). Pleasantly, Dr. Su Fang Ng, who is from the University of Oklahoma, and was a Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study Fellow at Harvard University with me, in 2005-2006, is also a Visiting Fellow now at All Souls College.

The ambience of the tea room, as well as the dining halls, adds to the beauty and uniqueness of this truly special experience.

Since arriving at All Souls College, I have revised a paper on disaster relief, and resubmitted it to a journal, and have accepted an invitation to speak on the topic to the Management Science group at Lancaster University on June 28. I will also be speaking at the Centre for Transport Studies at Imperial College in London on June 9 on perishable product supply chains, which I am very much looking forward to. That evening I will be dining with one of my former doctoral students, and co-author of the Financial Networks book, Dr. Stavros Siokos, who is a very successful financier and a UMass Amherst alum. In July, I will be flying from England to speak at the EURO conference in Poznan, Poland, which should be fantastic and there we will be presenting also our latest cybersecurity research and also work on the Braess paradox and electronic circuits. Yes, applications of operations research are fascinating and widespread!


While at Oxford University, I am delighted that the Dynamics of Disasters volume, that I co-edited with Professors Ilias Kotsireas and Panos M. Pardalos, has been completed with a very nice Introduction. It contains 18 chapters. The volume has been shipped to our publisher, Springer.


I also had a chance to attend the Responsible Business conference at the Said School of Business that I blogged about.


In addition, I have been working on a paper on supply chain quality with application to food supply chains and am looking forward to the publication of the book, "Competing on Supply Chain Quality," co-authored with Dong Li, also to be published by Springer. In it, Oxford University is acknowledged and it is also acknowledged in the Dynamics of Disasters book.


Of course, while at Oxford, I have continued to monitor the progress of my doctoral students in Management Science at the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst and am looking forward to Sara Saberi defending her dissertation later this summer.

The support provided by All Souls College plus the warmth of its staff surrounds us with a positive energy which challenges us to do our best work.


The beauty of the green spaces of Oxford and its various colleges also provide us with time to think as we walk and explore.

I am sure that the next month will bring all sorts of new experiences.

First 36 Hours in Oxford, England with Photos

Yesterday morning my flight on Delta from Boston Logan landed in London Heathrow at 7AM. The flight was early and it had been so comfortable - I managed to even stretch out over 3 middle seats and can't remember when I had this luxury in the recent past.

All Souls College at Oxford University had arranged for me to be picked up at Heathrow. Both my suitcases arrived quickly in baggage claim and although customs was a mass of humanity especially the "all passports" queue, I took advantage of the wait by speaking to the female in front of me, who, was from DC and was returning to Oxford for a visit since she had received her Master's last year from Oxford University in environmental sciences. She was wonderful to talk to and told me of several places that I should go to, including University Park, which I strolled through today.

My driver brought me to my apartment, which is gated and requires a combination to get past the gate and another one to get into the building. The apartment has views of greenery from each window and as I am writing the birds outside are keeping me company. The air is very crisp and the temperature just perfect for research, walking, and exploring.

I will be reporting to All Souls College on Monday, which will be by first day as a Visiting Fellow. I am very excited about this great opportunity.

Yesterday I walked to downtown Oxford and found a favorite tea room and restaurant that we had been to last year when we were in Europe for multiple conferences from Greece through Scotland.

I walked at least 10 miles which is always my way of avoiding jet lag since one then switches to the new time zone and collapses in a deep sleep at night. I even managed to get to a Sainsbury food store to purchase some fresh produce, other food, and household supplies.

Everyone is so friendly here and my ears are getting adjusted to the variety of British accents that I hear. I managed to get a monthly bus pass at Debenham's but have been walking exclusively, so far.

Below are some photos taken in my first 36 hours in Oxford.

The first photo below is of Trinity College, Oxford University, which is very close to All Souls College.

All Souls College was closed today (but it is a Saturday). I took the photo below of the entrance.

There were various sports teams and many families enjoying University Park today.

The tree below in the park charmed me - yes, being from Amherst, Massachusetts, I am certainly at tree hugger.

The arch below on the Oxford University campus caught my eye.

The bus I will take advantage of sooner or later since there will be quite a few late evening lectures to attend.

But, this afternoon, I walked the scenic way back from downtown to my apartment.

The beauty of Oxford from the architecture to the natural environment is captivating.

I do believe that living abroad, as an academic, enriches one intellectually, culturally, spiritually, and research-wise.  Tonight, I will enjoy reading a nice, thick British newspaper followed by my copy of the latest issue of The Economist.

Looking Forward to Being a Visting Fellow at All Souls College at Oxford University

This past Tuesday, my husband and I took the train from London to Oxford (now the same trains and the London tube are not running due to a strike, the first in 20 years).

I have been conferencing in Europe, beginning with the Dynamics of Disasters conference in Greece, followed by the EUROPT conference, now taking place in Edinbirg, Scotland, and next week, the EURO conference in Glasgow.

Since Oxford is ony a one hour train ride from London it made sense to go and visit All Souls College at Oxford University where I will be a Visiting Fellow next year during the trinity term.

All Souls College is considered to be one of the most prestigious colleges at Oxford and the history of it, which dates to the mid 1400s testifies to that. 

I heard the great news that I was selected to be a Visiting Fellow at All Souls College while I was checking by email on the MetroNorth train to New York City last November.  Only a few days after the good news the Isenberg School of Management had a special tribute to Gene Isenberg, and I spoke with one of his grandsons, Stefan, who had graduated from Oxford University.

I have been communicating with the Visiting Fellow secretary regularly and got a chance to meet her at Oxford and also to meet one of the porters.

Women have been allowed to be Fellows at All Souls College only since  1979.

According to All Souls College in regards to Visiting Fellowships: The purpose of the scheme is to bring to the College distinguished scholars (and occasionally individuals with careers in public service) from outside the University of Oxford who would benefit from undertaking their research project here.

The architecture of Oxford University is stunning as are the green spaces and river surroundings.

We even managed to find the place that we will be living at while I am a Visiting Fellow and I enjoyed seeing the gift below of this year's Fellows in front of the complex.

As for the food in Oxford, my husband and I shared a delicious lunch of fish and chips with mushed peas (they were so good0 and avocado.

Then, after miles of walking, we treated ourselves to a cream tea (what can beat a scone and cold clotted cream plus hot tea in the afternoon?) in the oldest coffee house in England.

It will be quite the experience moving from New England to Old England next year - I am very much looking forward to it and will also have to bring my Brown University cap and gown for various academic events.