Education in Operations Research at the Ohio State UniversityAuthor(s): W. T. MorrisSource: Operations Research, Vol. 5, No. 6 (Dec., 1957), pp. 861-862Published by: INFORMSStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/166879 .

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Operations-Research Edited by

Education JOSEPH F. McCLOSKEY

EDUCATION IN OPERATIONS RESEARCH AT THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY

W. T. MORRIS The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio

THE EDUCATIONAL Program in Operations Research at Ohio State is cen- tered in the Department of Industrial Engineering, within which the academic

aspects of the program are organized, and in the Operations Research Group of the Engineering Experiment Station, which engages in contract research and serves as a laboratory for the academic program. The Operations Research Group was established in 1954 to provide opportunities for actual experience in operations research as an essential aspect of training in this area, and to provide conditions under which a program of basic research could be developed.

The Operations Research Group consists of a core of full-time researchers supple- mented by members of the faculties of the Departments of Industrial Engineering, Civil Engineering, Mathematics, Philosophy, Sociology, Psychology, Medicine, and Business Organization. The group takes full advantage of the opportunities at a large university to call in specialists in a wide variety of fields as they are required. At present the group is providing graduate assistantships on research projects in the industrial, military, and public-health fields.

UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION

THE INFLUENCE OF OPERATIONS RESEARCH has been reflected for some time in the development of the undergraduate program in Industrial Engineering. Many operations-research techniques are being taught at this level, including experi- mental design, programming, control, queuing theory, game theory, and the like. The undergraduate program focuses attention on such topics as research methodology, the philosophy of science, and the basic concepts of operations research and systems analysis.

GRADUATE EDUCATION

IN ADDITION TO the regular graduate programs in Industrial Engineering and the interdepartmental program in Industrial Engineering and Psychology, a graduate program has been established in Operations Research, leading to the Ph.D. degree. The program is based on a three-course sequence given in the Department of In- dustrial Engineering, covering the philosophy, techniques, and case histories in operations research. The program has certain basic requirements in mathematics and the social sciences, but much of it is arranged to suit the individual. These courses are followed by graduate offerings in the Department of Industrial En-

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862 Operations-Research Education,

gineering in experimental design, measurement, programming, control, and decision theory. Elections may be made from selected courses in various I)epartments such

as Economics, Psychology, Sociology, Electrical Engineering, M\lathematics, Philoso- phy, and Physics. In addition, seminars are required in which faculty and graduate students meet to discuss special topics and current research. While this program is designed primarily for Ph.D. studies, many Master-of-Science programs in the Department of Industrial Engineering have included extensive work in operations research.

SHORT COURSES

IN AUGUST 1957 the Operations Research Group, in cooperation with the Labora- tory of Aviation Psychology, presented the first of a series of short courses in Human Engineering and Systems Analysis. The course, which extended over a three-week period, was attended by approximately twenty U. S. Air Force personnel and an equal number from industry and the other services.

FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH

TEE VOLUME AND NATURE of the sponsored research in process has necessitated the initiation of a program of fundamental research directed toward a variety of methodological and theoretical questions. This effort is supported by the Engineer- ing Experiment Station and various other sources. The investigations presently underway include studies in the methodology of systems research, productivity in team research, theoretical studies of flow processes, replacement theory, and the performance of the human as a monitor in man-machine systems.

INFORMATION concerning graduate work or other phases of the Operations-Research Program may be obtained by addressing DR. PAUL N. LEHOCZKY, Chairman of the Department of Industrial Engineering, or DR. DANIEL HOWLAND, Supervisor of the Operations Research Group.

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