{"59978":{"#nid":"59978","#data":{"type":"news","title":"George Nemhauser","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe\u0027s assisted with the logistics for airlines and shipping ports, but a chaired\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      professor in the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering is now responsible\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      for ensuring the Yankees play the Red Sox in September.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESchedule-makers\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      deal with conflicting requirements and preferences as a matter of course,\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      but as the financial and competitive stakes in athletics at the college\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      and professional level rise, so does the complexity of creating a balanced\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      schedule. George Nemhauser * a mathematician and a sports fan * noticed\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      it could benefit from specialization.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHe\u0027s a partner\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      in a company called the Sports Scheduling Group, which has handled athletic\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      scheduling for several college conferences, including Tech\u0027s own\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      Atlantic Coast Conference for nearly a decade. The objective, he said,\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      is to balance the requirements of the television contract with competitive\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      fairness while accommodating the needs of fans, coaches, players, media,\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      sponsors and facility operators.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor some time,\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      Nemhauser and his partners have had their eye on Major League Baseball,\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      which lets companies submit proposed schedules and selects the best one.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      After several attempts, the office announced last fall it was awarding\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      SSG the scheduling contract through 2006. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECompared with collegiate\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      scheduling, though, baseball is another order of magnitude. In fact, the\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      complexity of the task makes it too large to handle as a whole. Developing\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      a viable schedule, he noted, involved 12 high-performance computers running\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      virtually non-stop for five months. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022It\u0027s\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      a wildly constrained process and to come up with something feasible is\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      very difficult,\u0022 he said. \u0022Perhaps IBM\u0027s Blue Gene computer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      could handle something as big and complicated as this, but I doubt it.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAge:\u003C\/strong\u003E 67\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EOccupation:\u003C\/strong\u003E Professor\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJob description:\u003C\/strong\u003E Teaching, research with graduate students\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n  on discrete optimization [both theoretical and applied] and faculty athletics\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n  representative to the NCAA.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat I find most rewarding about my job:\u003C\/strong\u003E Working with students.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat I find most challenging about my job:\u003C\/strong\u003E Keeping up with\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n  the graduate students.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EYears at Tech: \u003C\/strong\u003E19\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEducation: \u003C\/strong\u003EBachelor\u0027s degree in chemical engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n  from City College of New York; master\u0027s degree in chemical engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n  from Northwestern University; doctoral degree in operations research from Northwestern\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n  University.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHobbies: \u003C\/strong\u003ETennis, hiking, travel, wine collecting (and drinking)\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe last book I read for pleasure:\u003C\/strong\u003E \u0022Atonement,\u0022 by\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n  Ian McEwan.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe CD in my stereo: \u003C\/strong\u003E\u002760s-era Bob Dylan.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAnother occupation I\u0027d like to try: \u003C\/strong\u003ECenterfielder for\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n  or owner of the New York Yankees. Unfortunately, they require ability and money\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n  I don\u0027t have.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMy first paid job: \u003C\/strong\u003ECamp counselor in the mid-1950s. We were\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n  paid $250 for the summer.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EOne place I\u0027ve always wanted to visit:\u003C\/strong\u003E I traveled a\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n  lot both for business and pleasure and enjoy almost everywhere I\u0027ve been.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EOne talent I would most like to have:\u003C\/strong\u003E Athletic ability\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat I consider my greatest accomplishment:\u003C\/strong\u003E Being selected\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n  as one of the eight best instructors in the Johns Hopkins University student\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n  course guide three years in a row.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMy pet peeve is:\u003C\/strong\u003E People who don\u0027t respect confidentiality.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMy day would not be complete without: \u003C\/strong\u003EA glass of good wine.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat I most value in my friends:\u003C\/strong\u003E Humor and loyalty\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMy motto: \u003C\/strong\u003EWork and play hard.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27279","created_gmt":"2005-02-07 01:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:07:08","author":"Barbara Christopher","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2005-02-07T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2005-02-07T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003EBarbara Christopher\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIndustrial and Systems Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=bt3\u0022\u003EContact Barbara Christopher\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404.385.3102\u003C\/strong\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["bchristopher@isye.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}