Carl M. Harris

Summary

Operations research is the profession that deals with the application of scientific methods to decision making, and especially to the allocation of resources. This work is typically accomplished by developing and manipulating mathematical and computer models of operational systems that are composed of people, machines, and procedures.

Though I have been an academic for most of my professional life, my career has clearly included the major aspects that a trained operations researcher may pursue: industry, academia, consulting, and government. The most exciting part of an OR career is precisely the ability to be able to choose from such a wide range of possibilities. In addition, the very nature of OR as a problem-solving discipline has allowed me to see a wide range of interesting applications, for example, from crime and justice, energy, the environment, manpower planning, manufacturing, telecommunications, and transportation. I have always tried to continue my methodological research in probability modeling and queuing theory, and I have found that to be increasingly valuable in the information technology and telecommunication revolution of our time. All of these interests and activities have combined to give me a very exciting career over the years.

Of the particular applications on which I have worked, the studies that I have found most interesting were those which focused on issues of major public concern. My study of the Great Lakes and their tributaries brought a colleague and me to brief the U.S. State Department and Environment Canada on our findings.