University of Illinois computer science professor Sheldon Jacobson was recently named a fellow of the Institute of Industrial Engineers. The award of Fellow recognizes outstanding leaders of the profession who have made significant, nationally recognized contributions to industrial engineering.
Professor Jacobson works in the field of Operations Research, a discipline that embodies the application of analytical tools to analyze and understand complex and complicated systems. His methodological research addresses problems related to sequential stochastic assignment when there is uncertainty in the model inputs, and the design of novel exact algorithms for hard discrete optimization problems based on the cross fertilization of traditional search methods like branch and bound with memory. His areas of application include aviation security system design and analysis (optimal allocation and use of security assets, and understanding the impact of new technologies on security system performance), problems within the general area of public health (pediatric vaccine formulary design and pricing, pediatric vaccine stockpiling, the relationship between obesity and transportation, and the impact of cell phone use on automobile accident rates), and NCAA basketball “March Madness” Bracketology (understanding the impact of seeds on how the tournament evolves).
His research has been reported in numerous media outlets, including the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, Business Week, Forbes, and Kiplinger, CNBC's Street Signs and The Closing Bell, Washington Post Radio, and The Osgood Files on CBS radio. The author of over 190 journal research articles, book chapters, conference proceeding papers, and professional and editorial papers, Professor Jacobson has been recognized with several national and international awards, including the Award for Technical Innovation in Industrial Engineering from the Institute of Industrial Engineers and a Guggenheim Fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.
IIE is the global association of productivity and efficiency professionals specializing in industrial engineering, healthcare, ergonomics and other related professions. IIE’s mission is to advance the profession through networking, training and knowledge sharing.