Letter from the Co-lead Editors

Dear OR/MS Community Members,

We are thrilled to share the Spring/Summer 2024 edition of OR/MS Tomorrow, brought to life by our all-volunteer student team. This issue includes seven articles that delve into a range of pertinent topics in Operations Research and Management Science (OR/MS), tailored specifically for students.

First, we have two articles in our recurring industry series. The first article introduces popular certifications aimed at soon-to-be graduates and early career OR/MS professionals. The second article explores the "Electric Vehicle Industry," including market strategies, consumer concerns, and solutions for range anxiety.

We have one article in our mental health series that reviews the The New Habit, by Neil Fiore. The article takes a deep dive into the book’s insights on procrastination and how to prevent it.

In our newer series on K-12 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Outreach, collaborators from the University of Arizona and Purdue University discuss ten years of advancements in STEM outreach. The authors discuss activities to increase awareness of operations research and its related disciplines to high school students and challenges observed in STEM outreach.

Our INFORMS student chapter spotlight is on the Georgia Institute of Technology (better known as Georgia Tech). Conducted in an interview style, the article covers the successes of the chapter and tips for keeping their members engaged.

Our penultimate article features the INFORMS Business Analytics Conference, held annually in April. This year’s event was held in Orlando, FL and features the Early Career Practitioners Network (ECPN), in which one of our members participated. Our final article considers an operations-research-focused perspective on heating systems and how optimization can play a vital role in renewable energy.

Finally, our issue concludes with the results of our 2023 Mini-poster Competition and details about the 2024 competition! We were so excited to have 19 total entries across our three categories last year and we look forward to the mini-posters to be submitted this year!

This issue we celebrate Zihan Zhang transitioning from Social Media Coordinator to Co-lead Editor and Yiwen Wang becoming a Staff Writer after serving as our Webmaster.

We are also pleased to welcome nine new team members! We have three new editors: Ronak Tiwari, Lingchao Mao, and Justin Dumouchelle. We have five new staff writers: Alina Gorbunova, Elizabeth Shipley, Pavithra Sripathanallur Murali, and Ya-yu Hu. We also welcome one new social media coordinator, Hasini Balsuriya, and webmaster, Tvisha Annem.

This is the last issue for several of our senior members, and we thank them profoundly for their contributions. Departing after this issue are editors, Harsh Anand, Farzin Ahmadi, and Sen Li; staff writers, Nandan Kumar Singh, Abigail Lindner, and Soham Agarwal; and production editor, Xiaoyu Ma. Finally, this will be our last issue advised by Dr. David "Dave" Czerwinski. We appreciate his many years of dedication and support of the magazine! Their presence will surely be missed, and we wish them all the best in their future endeavors.

We would also like to acknowledge the following for their photographic contributions to the frontmatter of issue: Nicolette Meade for the cover image, Henry Be for the Contents page image, and R Mo for the Letter from the Co-lead Editors header photo.

Discover more about OR/MS Tomorrow by visiting our website at www.informs.org/Publications/OR-MS-Tomorrow, where you can access individual articles from this issue, explore past editions, and learn more about our editorial team. If interested in contributing an article for our Fall/Winter 2024 issue, email us at [email protected].

Keep up-to-date with all our news, events, and more by following us on Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), and LinkedIn! We hope you find inspiration and insight in this issue.
Warm regards,

Kara Combs & Zihan Zhang

OR/MS Tomorrow Spring/Summer 2024 Editorial Team

This issue wouldn’t have been possible without the effort of our Spring/Summer 2024 editorial team members:

CONTENT

INDUSTRY SERIES | Certifications for Early Career OR/MS Professionals

INDUSTRY SERIES | Navigating the EV Industry: Selling Options, Consumer Concerns, and Addressing Range Anxiety

MENTAL HEALTH SERIES | Breaking Procrastination: A Book Review of The Now Habit

STEM OUTREACH SERIES | Ten Years of Dedicated Advancements in Rising 9th Through 12th Graders

STUDENT CHAPTER SPOTLIGHT | Georgia Institute of Technology’s Student Chapter

A Place of Opportunity and Chance: The INFORMS Business Analytics Conference 2024

Optimizing Heating Systems: OR Questions for Renewable Energy Integration

OR/MS Tomorrow Mini-Poster Competition 2023 Results