Author: Ismael Mohammad Pour

As we step into 2025, our chapter is excited to share two remarkable interviews that highlight the dedication of our chapter faculty advisor, Professor Anna Nagurney, and the courage of the exchange students from the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE).

Professor Nagurney’s Insights on Trade and Economic Policies

In the interview titled “UMass Isenberg School Prof Anna Nagurney: Trump, Tariffs & Tradeoffs,” Professor Nagurney shares her expertise on the complexities of global trade, discussing how trade policies influence global trade dynamics, supply chains, and the broader economy. You can listen to Professor Nagurney’s insightful interview here:

KSE Exchange Students’ Experiences

The second interview features four exchange students from the Kyiv School of Economics—Asta Motrenko, Oleksandra Horusieva, Marharyta Nechytailo, and Karyna Lutsenko. In the interview, they share their experiences of studying abroad during Russia’s war on Ukraine. They discuss the difficulties they’ve faced, their academic pursuits, and their hopes for the future. You can listen to their inspiring interview here:

This is not the first time we’ve celebrated the KSE exchange students on our chapter’s platform. Last year, we hosted an event featuring exchange students in a panel discussion titled Higher Education in the US and Ukraine. The event explored the challenges and opportunities of studying abroad and emphasized the importance of academic collaboration between the US and Ukraine. You can revisit our blog post about that event here:

https://websites.umass.edu/umassinf/2023/11/11/higher-education-in-the-us-and-ukraine-panel-meet-the-exchange-students-from-the-kyiv-school-of-economics/: WHMP Interviews Featuring Professor Nagurney and KSE Exchange Students

We are deeply grateful to Professor Nagurney for her support. Special thanks to WHMP hosts Buz Eisenberg and Bill Newman for providing a platform to share these inspiring stories. Their thoughtful questions and engaging discussions have brought these important topics to a broader audience.

Stay tuned for more updates on our chapter’s website as we prepare for next semester’s events.

If you missed Professor Muge Capan’s insightful talk, “Improving Diagnostic Equity in Ambulatory Settings: Research to Practice,” you can now catch our interview with her on our YouTube channel. Professor Capan graciously shared her research journey and innovative approaches to addressing diagnostic disparities in healthcare.

We deeply appreciate Professor Capan’s time and her invaluable contributions as our guest. Thank you, Professor Capan, for doing the interview and sharing your expertise with our community.

Stay tuned for more interviews and talks, and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel!

On Friday, December 13, 2024, the UMass Amherst INFORMS Student Chapter concluded the semester with an end-of-semester party—an excellent opportunity to celebrate achievements and connect before the holidays.

This year’s event was particularly special as we proudly celebrated receiving the Chapter’s Magna Cum Laude Award at the 2024 INFORMS Annual Meeting. This prestigious recognition highlights the dedication and hard work of our members and officers in fostering a vibrant, collaborative community.

The evening was filled with joy, laughter, and delicious food. Our faculty advisor, Professor Anna Nagurney, delighted us with her signature Ukrainian pierogies and desserts, complemented by pizza, sandwiches, salad, and fruit from UMass Catering. Members, officers, and faculty from the Isenberg School of Management and the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering joined us, making the celebration truly memorable.

Reflecting on 2024, we are grateful for the connections, growth, and accomplishments of our Chapter. Thank you to everyone—our faculty advisor, officers, and members—who contributed to this year’s success. From academic discussions to social gatherings, we are proud of the community we’ve built together. We look forward to even more exciting events and initiatives next semester.

Stay tuned to our blog and social media for updates on future events and activities. Have a wonderful holiday season, and see you in the new year!

The 2024 INFORMS Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington, marked another proud moment for the UMass Amherst Student Chapter of INFORMS, as we were honored to receive the INFORMS Student Chapter Annual Award with the Magna Cum Laude degree. While we shared highlights of the conference in an earlier blog post, our recent photoshoot with the award plaque deserves a dedicated spotlight of its own. Here is a close-up of the 2024 award plaque, a testament to the hard work and dedication of our chapter members.

This year, the photoshoot took place in the beautiful inner circle of the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Despite the windy weather making outdoor photos a challenge, the background showcased parts of the building’s less-seen beauty, providing a perfect setting to commemorate our achievement.

During the photoshoot, we also captured a unique moment indoors where sunlight created interesting patterns of light and shadow on our faces. While not the perfect lighting, this photo is showcasing the candid atmosphere of the day as we celebrated this achievement together.

We also thank our faculty advisor, Professor Nagurney, for her continued guidance and support, which make achievements like this possible. As we look ahead to next year’s INFORMS Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, we stay committed to keep this momentum going.

A week and a day have passed since the 2024 INFORMS Annual Meeting wrapped up in Seattle, Washington.

Though we’re back in Amherst, the excitement from our time at the Seattle Convention Center Summit, and Hyatt Regency stays with us. Seattle gifted us a few moments of sunshine amid its rain, adding a bright touch to our experience.

Our faculty advisor, Professor Anna Nagurney, opened the first day with a compelling presentation, “Defense Critical Supply Chain Networks and Risk Management with the Inclusion of Labor: Dynamics and Quantification of Performance and the Ranking of Nodes and Links.”

Professor Nagurney participated in multiple panels and meetings. She also participated in the panel “What Does Our Past Tell Us About the Future” and attended a vibrant Editorial Board meeting for the Journal of Global Optimization and Optimization Letters. Professor Nagurney was joined by her current PhD students, Ismael M. Pour, Samira Samadi, both presenting for the first time, and Dana Hassani. It was also wonderful to reconnect with her former PhD students Professors Pritha Dutta and Grace Ke.

Our former Chapter President, Dana Hassani, presented his work, “A Multiperiod Multicommodity Capacitated International Agricultural Trade Network Equilibrium Model with Applications to Ukraine in Wartime,” during a session on Disaster Response Operations and Social Responsibility. Congratulations to Dana on his achievements, including his recent publication in Transportation Science!

Our current President, Ismael M. Pour, presented his paper, “A Spatial Price Network Equilibrium Paradox,” during the session on “Survival Analysis and Optimization Techniques,” on the last day of the conference.

Our current Vice President, Joshua Gladstone, presented his work, “Pricing And Convenience Considerations In Omnichannel Assortment Planning,” in the session titled “Retail Analytics; and Assortment Planning,” on the last day of the conference.

Our current Treasurer, Samira Samadi, also marked her first INFORMS conference by presenting the paper “A Variational Inequality Trade Network Model in Prices and Quantities Under Commodity Losses,” co-authored with Professor Nagurney and Ismael M. Pour. We’re thrilled to announce that just after returning to Amherst, this paper was published.

One of our Social Media Officers, Semih Boz, shared his research, “Parcel Consolidation In Last Mile Delivery by Vehicle and Drone,” during the session on “Improving Societal Outcomes with Logistical Innovations” on the first day of the conference. Our other Social Media Officer, Gulten Busra Karkili, presented her work in the session “Innovations in Public Sector Operations,” on the last day of the conference.

One of our Blog post Officers, Yukti Kathuria, presented her work, “Analysis of Social Determinants of Health to Risk-Stratify Type II Diabetes Pathways,” in a flash session on “Data Science in Healthcare and Policy” on the second day of the conference. Our other Blog post Officer, Sindhoora Prakash, shared her research, “A Comparative Study Of Scheduling Approaches For Complex Care Programs with Multi-disciplinary Teams,” during the session on “Healthcare Operations” on the last day of the conference.

This year, the INFORMS Annual Meeting was record-breaking in scale, with so many sessions that navigating the app was an adventure! Many of our Chapter members presented, some for the first time, showcasing the depth and diversity of our research. For instance, Solmaz Abbaspour presented her research, “Equitable Supply-Demand Balancing: Tailoring Equitable Incentives for Demand Response Programs in Power Grids,” in the session “Recycling, Repurposing and Rebalancing in Precision Agriculture and Sustainable Systems” on the first day. Kelvin Ekun also presented his work, “Online Quotation Under Delayed Customer Feedback and Offline Production Scheduling,” during the session “Scheduling of Manufacturing and Service Processes” on the last day of the conference.

The highlight came at the Student Chapter Award Ceremony, where the UMass Amherst INFORMS Student Chapter received the Magna Cum Laude Award. This achievement reflects the guidance of our faculty advisor Professor Anna Nagurney and the leadership of our previous President Dana Hassani, and the dedication of all our Chapter members. This recognition embodies the hard work of our officers and the invaluable members.

Next week, we’ll gather for a photoshoot with our award. We are excited for the next INFORMS Annual Meeting in Atlanta and look forward to seeing all of our colleagues there!