ISE Associate Professor Tom Sharkey recently visited Utqiagvik (formerly known as Barrow), Alaska in order to understand the community’s perspective on emergency response in the Arctic and how the types of infrastructure development that would most benefit the communities of the North Slope Borough of Alaska. As part of this visit, Professor Sharkey and colleagues met with people working in emergency response, risk management, and infrastructure planning for the North Slope Borough as well as representatives from various indigenous community groups. An important part of this research was
ISE News and Events
PhD student Mario Arrieta-Prieto won 2nd place in the Best Poster competition at the Technical University of Denmark’s (DTU) 2019 energy summer school, “Data-Driven Analytics and Optimization for Energy Systems”. Presented for his research on “Short-term Forecasting of Wind Power Output’s Predictive Densities via DVINE Copulas”, the award recognizes outstanding modeling efforts in statistics and operations research developed for applications in power systems.
The RPI IIE (Institute of Industrial Engineers) Student Chapter has won the Silver Award for 2019. The award recognizes the chapter's overall achievements in AY 2018-2019.
Last year, the chapter along with IISE have arranged to offer two certificates every year on campus for Six Sigma and Lean Green Belts. Plans for next year include guest speakers, plant tours, social events, and much more.
The chapter is also planning to host the IISE Regional Conference for the Northeast Region in 2022!
Ning Zhang received first place in the Undergraduate Student Research Dissemination competition given at the 2019 Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineering (IISE) Annual Conference in Orlando, FL. The award was given by IISE’s Operations Research division. The award recognizes undergraduate researchers for their contributions to the field of industrial engineering and operations research, as well as their ability to communicate results effectively. The award evaluation was based on both a written conference paper and an oral research presentation.
In this feature article, Tom Willemain provokes a good deal of thought about the role of statistical models in supply chain forecasting, a field that he believes lags far behind finance in embracing algorithms over gut instinct. His article is followed by Commentaries from practitioners and researchers about the realities that can lead to "model failure" and the conditions for successful implementation of model-based decision making.
Institute News
Fouling is a natural phenomenon that describes the tendency of proteins in water to adhere to nearby surfaces. It’s what causes unwanted deposits of protein to form during some food production or on biomedical implants, causing them to fail. Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are harnessing this process, which is typically considered a persistent challenge, to develop a versatile and accessible approach for modifying solid surfaces.
The surface of a pristine, transparent freshwater lake may not reveal to ecologists the reality of what’s occurring in its depths. Evaluating the cumulative effects of climate change, pollutants, acidification, or invasive species requires more precise methods. But even the most dynamic and sensitive sensors commonly used today are not always able to tell researchers what they need to know.
A novel form of polymerized estrogen developed at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute can provide neuroprotection when implanted at the site of a spinal cord injury — preventing further damage. This promising result, found in a preclinical model, was recently published in ACS Chemical Neuroscience, and it lays the groundwork for further advancement of this new biomaterial.
Future roads will likely carry autonomous vehicles that communicate with one another in a system where vehicles relay information — like destination, speed, or upcoming lane change — and then receive real-time feedback about decisions like route changes necessary to avoid traffic.
Envisioning an animal-free drug supply, scientists have — for the first time — reprogrammed a common bacterium to make a designer polysaccharide molecule used in pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals.