November 2016                                                                 Operation Research Division Newsletter
Division Message

Dear OR Division Members,
As we move through the fall, we hope that many of you are making plans for the 2017 IISE Annual Conference in Pittsburgh!  The Operations Research Division is excited to let you know about many opportunities:
  • Submit an abstract for the 2017 conference
  • Opens the opportunity to be recognized for the Best Paper!
  • Undergraduate students can be nominated for the Undergraduate Research Dissemination Award
  • Gather your materials as you teach this semester/quarter to be nominated for the Excellence in Teaching Operations Research Award
  • Be ready to participate in webinars.
We are excited to showcase the Clemson University IISE Chapter.
We look forward to seeing many of you in Pittsburgh in May 2017.
Webinars
In 2015-2016, the Operations Research Division sponsored two webinars. You can still enjoy these and other past webinars here.

Once you view a webinar, we are sure you'll want to give one yourself.  Volunteer to contribute to the 2016-2017 Operations Research webinar offerings!  Email the 2016-2017 Webinar Coordinator: Scott Grasman ( scott.grasman@rit.edu ).
Nov. 29 | Norcross, Ga
Nov. 29 | Los Angeles
Dec.1 | Norcross, Ga

Organize an Invited Session in the OR Track for the IISE Annual 2017


Volunteer to organize an invited session in the Operations Research Track in the 2017 IISE Conference.
Email the 2016-2017 OR track chairs to get involved!
Adolfo R. Escobedo ( adRes@asu.edu )
Chase E. Rainwater ( cer@uark.edu )
Christina H. Rinaudo ( Christina.H.Rinaudo@erdc.dren.mil )
Operations Research Track Chairs

The Operations Research Division of IISE encourages its members to consider nominating a colleague for its annual award recognizing excellence in teaching operations research.
 
The award will be presented at the upcoming IISE Annual Conference in Pittsburgh PA May 20 - May 23, 2017.
 
We welcome nominations from around the globe. Letters of support, CV, and reflective statements are required in English, while course materials, evaluations, and syllabus can be submitted in the language of instruction.
 
Eligibility Criteria:
  • The candidate must be a member of IISE.
  • The course for which he/she is being recognized must be an undergraduate operations research course (examples of course titles might be Operations Research, Linear Programming, Optimization Methods, etc.) within an Industrial Engineering, Systems Engineering, Civil Engineering, or Management Engineering program.
  • Course materials for which they are being recognized must have been developed by the candidate.
Nominations may be made by a faculty colleague or a student who has taken the course from the candidate. The nomination package must consist of the following:
  • Letters of support from the nominator and two other individuals; at least one of the three letters must be from a faculty member and one from a student.
  • Course syllabus and supporting items such as samples of different instructional materials used.
  • Summary copies of teaching evaluations for the course he/she is being recognized.
  • Curriculum Vitae of the candidate.
  • A one-page reflective statement by the individual being nominated.
All supporting documents in the nomination package should be submitted in pdf format.
Deadline for nominations will be in early spring 2017.

Do you have a great OR professor? Or do you work with one? 
Or, let's be honest - Do you think you are a great OR professor?

Look for the nomination announcement in late December / early January for the  AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN THE TEACHING OF OPERATIONS RESEARCH.
Undergraduate Research Dissemination Award
 
GOAL: The goal of this award is to recognize scholarly work as well as ability to effectively communicate results from an undergraduate student or student teams.
 
ELIGIBILITY: The first author of the paper must be a full-time undergraduate student at the time of submission.  The paper must present original research conducted while the applicant was a student.

PROCESS: The application process follows the timeline of the proceedings paper submissions. When applicants submit their proceeding abstract they must email the Operations Research division Committee member in charge (2016-2017: Katie McConky ktmeie@rit.edu), requesting that their paper be considered for the award. Then they submit their proceeding paper through the usual IISE Conference process. Finalists will be selected from among the papers.

The winner is decided based both on their written paper and their oral presentation.  Finalists are selected before the IISE Conference , but the winner is announced at the Conference .
 
PRIZES: All finalists will receive a banquet ticket, and cash prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places in the amount of $400, $200, and $100 respectively!
 
Thank you to the 2016 - 2017 sponsors!
 Industrial Engineering Clemson University
 Industrial Engineering University of Arkansas

Plan your summer and fall to produce a Winning Paper!
The first author of the paper must be an undergraduate student at the time of submission, and though the work may contain faculty authors, it must be predominantly the work of a student or student team.
Co-authorship is allowed - whether other undergraduates, gr aduate students, faculty or industry members.
The paper must present original research, the research must have been conducted while the applicant was a student, and the paper must not have won or been considered for an award in another competition. 

Be ready to submit an abstract and Look for More information in Late Fall!
Clemson University IISE Chapter

The Clemson University IISE Chapter has had an incredible year - attending the Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference at North Carolina A&T, hosting a social with the local professional chapter in Greenville South Carolina, and sending its first group of students to the IISE Annual Conference & Expo in Anaheim.
IISE Clemson Officers 2015-2016   
2nd Row (L to R): Dr. Kevin Taaffe (Faculty Advisor), Ebony Johnson, Uday Sidhu 1st Row (L to R): Andie Keane, Brianna Rasnick, Katie Phillips, Joy Miller  (Not Pictured: Alex Martin)

In Fall 2016, the Clemson chapter is looking forward to taking a tour of GE Asheville and hosting its first Break-Out Room Social. The chapter is focused on recruiting new members and has just recently opened up a position on our executive board for a Freshman Liaison. 

This semester alone, the Clemson Chapter has hosted four company representatives and held three general body meetings. The executive board for the Clemson Chapter is looking forward to continuing their efforts to reach multiple students in the department, and helping the students learn about the benefits of joining IISE!


For information on how to highlight your student chapter, please contact Mary Beth Kurz at mkurz@clemson.edu

Nominations

The OR Division Board fills three positions each year - we elect a president-elect and two directors. The president-elect serves one year as president-elect, one as president, and one as past-president. The directors serve two- year terms.
 
Look forward to nominating yourself or a colleague to join the OR Division leadership in spring 2017!