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Events

• 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

  Jim Dai

  ORIE, Cornell University

  Stochastic processing networks (SPNs) model the operations of many complex systems, such as data centers and communication networks. These networks have been an active subject of research for more than 40 years. In this talk, I will introduce M-COF (Multi-scale Closed-form Optimization Framework), a new framework for the optimal control of a class of SPNs known as multi-class queueing networks. M-COF is scalable, can incorporate practical performance metrics such as tail-latency or fairness, and is rooted in recently developed multi-scale heavy-traffic theory. I will also discuss the relationship between M-COF (simulation-free) and recent methods (with simulation) based on deep PDEs and deep reinforcement learning. This talk is based on joint work with Jin Guang (Chicago Booth) and Lucy Huo (HKUST).

  Bio: Jim Dai is the Leon C. Welch Professor of Engineering in the School of Operations Research and Information Engineering at Cornell University. Prior to joining Cornell, he held the Chandler Family Chair Professorship in the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he was a faculty member from 1990 to 2012.

  Jim Dai received his BA and MA in mathematics from Nanjing University and his PhD in mathematics from Stanford University. He is an elected Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics and an elected Fellow of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS). His awards include the Erlang Prize (1998), the ACM SIGMETRICS Achievement Award (2018), and the INFORMS von Neumann Theory Prize (2024). He served as Editor-in-Chief of Mathematics of Operations Research from 2012 to 2019.

  Jim Dai’s research interests include fluid and diffusion models of queueing networks, Stein’s method, stochastic processing networks and their applications to ride-hailing platforms, data centers, and hospital inpatient flow management.

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  TIME Tuesday, April 7, 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)

• Apr

  28

  The Future-Ready Engineer: Forging a Winning Career Path in the Age of AI

  Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences (IEMS)

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

  EVENT DETAILS

  Abstract: Join Jim Roth, Northwestern alumnus and President of Customer Success at Salesforce, for an insightful talk on building a successful career in a rapidly evolving technological landscape. Learn how Jim’s personal career journey and his industrial engineering degree helped him get to where he is today. Drawing on his experience leading global operations at Dell Technologies and Salesforce—including driving service transformations and deploying autonomous AI agents—Jim will explore how artificial intelligence is fundamentally reshaping the workforce and what it means for engineers starting their careers.

  Following the session, you’ll walk away with actionable advice on:

  The Value of Your Degree: How engineering equips you for the AI-driven future of work.
  In-Demand Skills: The specific capabilities businesses are actively looking for in undergraduate and graduate hires to stay "future-ready," including familiarity with AI tools.
  Maximizing Your College Experience: Tips, tricks, and recommended opportunities to pursue while still in school to set your career up for success.
  Whether you're curious about AI or just want solid career tips, this session will help you level up your future.

  Register Now

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  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)

• May

  5

  IEMS Seminar Jiawei Zhang 5/05

  Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences (IEMS)

  11:00 AM L440, Technological Institute

  EVENT DETAILSmore info

  IEMS Seminar Jiawei Zhang 5/05

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  TIME Tuesday, May 5, 2026 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

  LOCATION L440, Technological Institute    map it

  ADD TO CALENDAR

  CONTACT Kendall Minta    kendall.minta@gmail.com EMAIL

  CALENDAR Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences (IEMS)

• May

  19

  IEMS Seminar 5.19 Woody Zhu Spring 2026

  Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences (IEMS)

  11:00 AM L440, Technological Institute

  EVENT DETAILSmore info

  IEMS Seminar 5.19 Woody Zhu

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  TIME Tuesday, May 19, 2026 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

  LOCATION L440, Technological Institute    map it

  ADD TO CALENDAR

  CONTACT Kendall Minta    kendall.minta@gmail.com EMAIL

  CALENDAR Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences (IEMS)