Good Decisions, Better Communities

When we hear the word "optimization," we tend to think about finding the best possible solution to a problem. But when those problems involve schools, communities, limited resources and competing priorities, defining what "best" actually means can become much more complicated. In this episode of Resoundingly Human: The INFORMS Podcast, Karen Smilowitz, Associate Provost and professor at Northwestern University with a joint appointment in the operations group at the Kellogg School of Management, and a plenary speaker at the 2026 INFORMS Annual Meeting, shares how operations research can be used to tackle complex problems with very real human consequences in education, humanitarian, and nonprofit applications.