Written by: Ben Jabbawy, Cornell University

Science and Engineering REALLY ARE COOL. Over the next few months, I will introduce different career paths within these fields. Since I am majoring in Operations Research (OR) Engineering, I figure its a great place to start.

Q: So what is OR anyways?

A: Today, business managers make many decisions involving time, money, labor, and materials. Because of the size and span of current manufacturing and delivery systems, there is a major need for very sophisticated methods of increasing efficiency in the combination of those crucial factors that make up many businesses. OR engineers use a combination of mathematical techniques and specialized computing tools to develop and apply the appropriate techniques.

Q: What real world applications does OR have?

A: There are infinite applications of OR in the real world. Take, for example, an automobile manufacturer. If they can figure out what process is slowing down their manufacturing line, they could save millions of dollars by adjusting that method of production. If airlines could better predict shifts in passenger demand during different seasons, they could fill more seats.

Q: What kind of classes do you take as an OR major?

A: Despite variations in different engineering programs, most OR majors require knowledge of calculus, computer programming, probability and statistics. OR also requires the understanding of the business side of manufacturing through classes such as financial and managerial accounting.

Q: What might be a typical career path for an OR major?

A: OR majors go off to work in companies like UPS managing delivery methods, managing projects at Microsoft, working as consultants and financial analysts or financial planners. The OR skill sets are also very valuable for entrepreneurs.

Let me give you an example that a professor showed my class on the first day. I present you with the following problem, also known as the Transportation problem:

You own a grand piano company with warehouses A, B, C all on the west coast. Customers want to purchase some of your pianos at points X, Y all on the east coast. Because you have been in the business for quite some time, you know the cost per piano (in thousands of dollars) associated with transporting them from…

A >> X = $4 / piano A >> Y = $7 / piano
B >> X = $6 / piano B >> Y = $8 / piano
C >> X = $8 / piano C >> Y = $9 / piano

You also know how many pianos you have stored at each warehouse:

A = 2 pianos
B = 3 pianos
C = 5 pianos

And how many pianos are demanded at each site:

X = 4 pianos
Y = 6 pianos

The problem then becomes fully satisfying the demand sites on the east coast while maximizing your profit (i.e. minimizing total transportation costs). At first glance, you’re probably thinking, ok that’s a joke. Just try out the different combinations in order to satisfy the demand at each site. But consider the same problem at a more realistic scale. Say you had to deliver 1000 pianos to 50 sites all over the world.

In this case, the plug and chug technique could take forever to figure out. OR engineers use a technique called linear programming, which involves manipulations of simple, linear equations to obtain simplified problems which are then easier to solve and still follow the restrictions of the original problem.

Oh yea, for those of you are still trying to figure out the best solution to the above problem: Send 2 pianos from A >> X, 2 pianos from B >> X, 1 piano from B >> Y, 5 pianos from C >>Y. This gives a total transportation cost of $73,000, which is the lowest possible cost while satisfying all the demand sites!

This, and similar problems and skill sets are very common for OR engineers. These techniques are highly applicable to the business world as well. Think about it, every company wants to maximize profit by minimizing costs, right!?!

Interested in how to solve this problem using linear programming?
Email me for the full explanation!

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Nature always has a funny way of providing the most terrible catastrophes only to ironically juxtapose them with the best cures for the worst ailments. As some sit in devastation, others research and study the complexity of Mother Earth’s gifts, in hopes that the good conquers the bad eventually. At Momenta Pharmaceuticals, natural sugars are examined, duplicated, engineered, and created to provide marketable drugs to cure diseases and appease pain.Using natural resources to help reduce blemishes and headaches has started to become a trendy solution to the world’s trivial health problems. Now though, we venture further into the immune system and try to offer answers to diseases and illnesses that continue to baffle scientists and doctors alike. The first step is to identify and isolate the chemical composition of the sugars involved, in order to regenerate the specific sugar or observe which structure is key to the cure.

From the initial base of a lab in MIT to the present finding of an anti-coagulant for coronary diseases, Momenta’s founders, Ram Sasisekharan, Ph.D., Professor of Biological Engineering, MIT and Ganesh Venkataraman, Ph.D., now the Senior Vice President, Research have been quite busy. Their first attempts in analyzing the sugar molecule came from using enzymes and chemicals to sever it at certain locations. From there, they “developed improvements to analytical methodologies, and created a numerical system to describe the many permutations of building blocks contained in complex sugars.”

The research has picked up from that starting point, and since their addition to the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, has grossed over 275 million dollars. Using state of the art and pioneering technology, the company has established a commanding hand in understanding the role of how complex sugars assist in cellular function, disease, and drug action of the human body.

A few essential facts they have picked up about sugars include how the malfunction of sugars play a crucial part in the onset of certain diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, cancer, or cardiovascular disease. Also, the way in which cells normally produce sugars are related to its function and communication, which can be manipulated to affect disease pathways.

To further the understanding of these sugar molecules, one of those least understood aspect of the body, the researchers have developed a method utilizing enzymes, analytics, and data integration. After they break down the sugars into units, following suit of the original method, they use computer programs to analyze the sequences more thoroughly. YES, they use COMPUTER PROGRAMS to model BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS! Using “matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry, MALDI MS, nuclear magnetic resonance, NMR, capillary electrophoresis, or CE”, the software allows for the scientists to gather information about components, structure, and the arrangement.

Breaking down the sugars is the most important task for anyone willing to discover secrets behind its complexity. Considering the given obstacles, such as inability to reproduce large molecules or to recognize sugars within large mixtures, deciphering sequences can prove its challenges in many ways. As 255 million combinations persist, the discoveries are absolutely endless as well! Focusing on this microscopic aspect of the human body, is perhaps the only way to unlock the greatest mysteries of our world- hopefully, throughout the years, the trial and error of our experiences will result in a great medicinal success!

Table: Status of Momenta Drug Innovations

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ISST is the acronym for Information Systems Science Technology a new and upcoming major that focuses on how to best manage and collect information. Data and databases are typical methods and students in this major learn how to manage large quantities of information, which can come in many different forms. Methods of data collection are very important and the study and development of means to best facilitate the best possible presentation and storage is a crucial area of study. Different methods can account for a difference in gigabytes, with regards to storage, or hours, with regards to data collection! However, ISST encompasses more than just the information, collection and storage, but how these different systems are developed and employed in different contexts. Studies also focus on human-computer interactions and a variety of social and economic applications of the technology. Students have the option to place emphasis on the human aspect and take courses on cognition, learning and the interface between humans and technology.

Core courses in ISST focus on economics, databases and design, web design and analysis and a variety of basic computer science courses. Additionally, the ISST student can choose between different tracks of study. The first option is to focus more on human interaction and analysis with courses in management and behavior. The alternative path places a greater focus on the technical aspect with more computation with several courses that parallel computer science.

Those who pursue a career path in ISST can go into several areas. One of the concentrations focuses on how to work with people and technology to quickly and efficiently collect and manage vast amounts of data. These types of jobs can be very technical in nature or can be theoretical, with application at lower levels. The management side is much more theoretical and focuses on a wide range of topics. Career paths in this direction lead to a variety of jobs which can be anything from a classical computer science job or an operations research consulting job. It is a highly diverse major that is suitable for anyone with interests in computer science, modeling, web development and mathematical theory.

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Frontiers of health: Sight for sore eyes
Ultra-short laser pulses may allow easier LASIK
by Hilary Parker

Szymon Suckewer needs eye surgery, but he’s not going under the knife just yet—he’d rather wait until no knife is necessary. Having recently developed an incision-free eye surgery technique, he’s confident that will soon be an option.

Szymon Suckewer (center) takes an up-close look at the laser that may one day sharpen his vision. He is part of a five-person team, which includes Alexander Smits (left) and Richard Register (right), working to develop better eye surgery techniques. Photo by Frank Wojciechowski

The breakthrough hinges on the use of femtosecond lasers, which deliver ultra-short pulses of light. Suckewer, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and co-director of the Program in Plasma Science and Technology, pioneered the development of these powerful devices in the 1990s.

The applications of the lasers for eye surgery were developed by a five-person team that includes Suckewer, chemical engineering professor Richard Register and Alexander Smits, professor and chair of mechanical and aerospace engineering. The three work closely with ophthalmologist Peter Hersh ‘78, director of cornea and refractive surgery at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, and Peter Frederikse, an assistant professor of pharmacology and physiology at UMDNJ.

Current LASIK (Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis) surgery requires removal of a flap of the cornea before a laser (which produces a much longer blast of light than a femtosecond laser) is used to reshape the inner part of the cornea. Surgery done with femtosecond lasers will feature more precise cuts and eliminate the need for a flap, since they can create and travel through small channels in the cornea.

“The difference is like cutting with a pair of dull scissors versus a precise scalpel,” Suckewer said. “And, because it generates less heat and there’s no flap, there is also a much faster recovery period.”

The team also plans to use the ultrashort pulse lasers to enable the first surgical cure for presbyopia, the age-related vision loss that occurs as the lens stiffens and the muscles that focus it weaken.

Register’s materials science skills led to the creation of a polymer that can be used to replace old and damaged lens tissue. Since the substance is a liquid that rapidly gels to a solid, it can be injected through the small channels made by the laser. Smits’ expertise in fluid mechanics was critical in the development of a process to remove damaged portions of the lens and replace them with the polymer.

“It was important to match the physical properties of the lens with the polymer,” said Register, who directs the Princeton Center for Complex Materials. “This substance is chemically different, but it matches the stiffness and refractive index of the lens, so it focuses light in the same way.”

The new technique for flapless FemtoLASIK cornea reshaping will soon be tested on animals and then humans, and could be ready for use in hospitals within three to four years. The researchers are considering starting a company based on their work and are currently in discussions with potential investors. The team’s other projects include the development of a liquid bandage for corneal abrasions and the use of femtosecond lasers to reshape contact lenses.

Article Courtesy of: Princeton’s School of Engineering

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PASADENA, Calif.– Malaria infects more than half a billion people every year, and kills more than one million, mostly children. Despite decades of effort, no effective vaccine exists for the disease, caused by single-celled Plasmodium parasites. The parasites are transmitted to humans via the bite of infected mosquitoes.

One way to stop malaria is to make the mosquitoes that carry the disease themselves resistant to the pathogen. Getting disease-fighting genes into the mosquito population can be tricky, however, because bugs carrying disease-resistance genes are likely to be less reproductively fit than their wild counterparts, and thus less likely to spread their genes naturally.

Associate Professor of Biology Bruce Hay of the California Institute of Technology, postdoctoral fellow Chun-Hong Chen, and their colleagues at Caltech and the University of California, Los Angeles, have come up with a novel method for introducing such genes into insect populations. The work, published recently in the journal Science, involves the creation of a selfish genetic element that is uniquely adapted to spread itself quickly throughout the population.

“This spread is essential,” says Hay, “because people who live in areas affected by malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases are bitten often, so there will be little benefit unless most of the mosquito population is disease resistant.”

“What we need,” says Chen, the first author of the study, “is some way of forcing, or helping, these disease-resistance genes to spread rapidly throughout the wild population.”

The technique Chen, Hay, and their colleagues have come up with uses a maternal-effect dominant embryonic arrest–or Medea–genetic element, a particularly spiteful selfish genetic element.

“Selfish genetic elements (single genes or clusters of genes) are basically units of genetic information that are more successful than your average gene at passing themselves from generation to generation,” says Chen, even if their presence makes an organism less fit. “Our idea was to create a selfish genetic element that could be linked with a specific cargo, the disease-resistance gene, as a way of rapidly carrying this gene through the population.”

Medea elements were first described in 1992 by Richard Beeman and colleagues at Kansas State University, who found the entity in populations of the common flour beetle Tribolium castaneum.

Beeman and his colleagues do not yet know the molecular nature of Tribolium Medea, but their work suggests that Medea consists of two linked genes. One gene, whose expression is activated in the mother, encodes a toxin that is deposited into all oocytes, or eggs. Embryos that do not inherit a Medea element die because of the toxin. Embryos that inherit Medea from either their mother’s or their father’s genome, however, will survive because they produce an antidote that neutralizes the toxin. As a result, chromosomes that carry Medea end up in offspring more often than those that do not, and Medea can spread rapidly through a population.

“We spent several years trying to create a selfish genetic element based on these principles,” says Chen, “but it was difficult to get the insects to produce just the right amount of toxin; enough to kill the embryo, but not so much that the toxin couldn’t be inhibited by the antidote.” The researchers eventually switched to a system in which the toxin caused the loss of an essential function, and the antidote restored that function. “We generated flies in which maternal expression of small noncoding RNAs, known as microRNAs, were used to silence a gene known as myd88, which is crucial for embryonic development. Embryos from mothers expressing these microRNAs all died, unless they also expressed a microRNA-insensitive version of the myd88 gene: the antidote,” said Chen.

Fruit flies carrying this synthetic Medea element spread quickly throughout a laboratory population of wild-type flies. After just a few generations, all of the flies in the population carried at least one copy of Medea. “To our knowledge this work represents the first de novo synthesis of a selfish genetic element able to drive itself into a population. It provides a simple proof-of-principle experiment demonstrating that, at least in a highly controlled laboratory environment, in a model organism, we can change the genetic makeup of a population,” says Hay.

The team now plans to use the technique to transmit a real payload–a disease-resistance gene–into the mosquito.

Says Hay: “Mosquitoes with a decreased capacity to transmit malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases have already been identified in the wild and created in the laboratory by other researchers. These observations tell us that we can manipulate the mosquito immune system and thereby, at least in principal, stop this and other mosquito-borne diseases at their source in the mosquito. When combined with a mechanism such as Medea that helps to spread these resistance genes through the wild population, there is a real possibility that disease transmission can be suppressed in an environmentally friendly way that does not involve the wholesale use of insecticides or modification of the environment; the mosquitoes will still be there but with one or two tiny genetic changes that make them unable to transmit these dreadful diseases.”

“This work is a prime example of how fundamental research can lead to breakthroughs that have huge implications for bettering human health,” says Marion Zatz, chief of the Developmental and Cellular Processes Branch at the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, which partially supported the research. “Dr. Hay’s work on how microRNAs regulate cell death in the innocuous fruit fly has ‘borne fruit’ in potential applications for limiting the spread of malaria.”

This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grants GM057422 and GM70956 to Bruce Hay, and NS042580 and NS048396 to Ming Guo, assistant professor in the departments of neurology and pharmacology at UCLA’s Brain Research Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine.

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