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Events

  • May
    8

    IEMS Seminar: Inpatient Overflow: An Approximate Dynamic Programming Approach

    Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences

    11:00 AM M228, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILS

    Jim Dai, Ph.D.
    Cornell University

    Abstract: Hospital inpatient beds are usually grouped into several wards, with each dedicated to a "primary" medical specialty. When a patient waits too long to get a primary bed, a hospital manager may assign her to a non-primary bed, which is often undesirable. Deciding when to use such "overflow" practice in real time decision making can be challenging. We develop an approximate dynamic programming (ADP) algorithm to aid the decision making. A key step is to choose appropriate basis functions. We use a novel combination of fluid control and single-pool approximation to devise such functions. We demonstrate, via extensive numerical experiments in realistic hospital settings, that our ADP algorithm is effective in finding good overflow policies. This is a joint work Pengyi Shi at Purdue University.

    Biography: Jim Dai is the Leon C. Welch Professor of Engineering in the School of Operations Research and Information Engineering (ORIE) at Cornell University. Prior joining Cornell in 2012, he held the Chandler Family Chair of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology, where he was a faculty member from 1990 to 2012. Dai studies applied probability models for efficient resource allocations in processing networks that model service systems such as customer contact centers, data centers, hospital patient flow management, airline yield management, and ridesharing networks. Dai received his BA and MA from Nanjing University and his PhD from Stanford. He is an elected fellow of Institute of Mathematical Statistics and an elected fellow of Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS). He has been the editor-in-chief of Mathematics of Operations Research since 2013.

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    TIME Tuesday, May 8, 2018 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    LOCATION M228, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Agnes Kaminski    a-kaminski@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences

  • Mar
    10

    IEMS Seminar 3/10 Nabarun Deb Winter 2026

    Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences (IEMS)

    11:00 AM A230, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILSmore info

    TIME Tuesday, March 10, 2026 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    LOCATION A230, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Kendall Minta    kendall.minta@gmail.com EMAIL

    CALENDAR Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences (IEMS)

  • Apr
    7

    IEMS Wasserstrom Lecture - Jim Dai April 7

    Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences (IEMS)

    11:00 AM Suite 1400, Krebs Classroom, North Campus Parking Garage

    EVENT DETAILSmore info

    TIME Tuesday, April 7, 2026 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    LOCATION Suite 1400, Krebs Classroom, North Campus Parking Garage    map it

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    CONTACT Kendall Minta    kendall.minta@gmail.com EMAIL

    CALENDAR Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences (IEMS)

  • Apr
    21

    IEMS Seminar Series - April 21 - Zhengyuan Zhou

    Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences (IEMS)

    11:00 AM

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Tuesday, April 21, 2026 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

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    CONTACT Kendall Minta    kendall.minta@gmail.com EMAIL

    CALENDAR Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences (IEMS)

  • Apr
    28

    IEMS Undergrad Seminar - Jim Roth - April 28

    Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences (IEMS)

    11:00 AM Suite 1400, Krebs Classroom, North Campus Parking Garage

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Tuesday, April 28, 2026 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    LOCATION Suite 1400, Krebs Classroom, North Campus Parking Garage    map it

    ADD TO CALENDAR

    CONTACT Kendall Minta    kendall.minta@gmail.com EMAIL

    CALENDAR Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences (IEMS)