Dr. Laura Albert shares her professional experiences

INFORMS Guatemala Student Chapter invited Dr. Laura Albert, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, to share her professional experience in the area of operations research.

INFORMS Student Chapter Guatemala, of which the students of the Galileo University Operations Research Institute are part, invited the Dr Laura Albert to present the conference “My Journey Through Operations Research”.

The objective of this talk was to celebrate International Women's Day, with an event in which the expert from the University of Wisconsin-Madison share some of her experiences as a woman scientist in the United States.

Dr. Albert is a professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering. His research interests span the fields of operations research and analytics, with applications in security, emergency response, and public sector issues.

Another article that may interest you: Galileo University forms the first INFORMS Student Chapter in Latin America

women in technology

In her lecture, Dr. Albert reflected on the role of women in today's tech industry, saying that things have changed over the last 20 years, but obstacles still exist. 

“Since I have been in more administrative positions, I have known serious obstacles, especially for women with Hispanic and Afro-descendant identities, or with different abilities. They have many challenges”, commented the expert.

The researcher assured that she does her best to keep the door open to offer opportunities, and asks her colleagues to do the same, since the challenges that new students are encountering are not very different from those of her generation.

“It gives the impression that science and technology is an exclusive place for men. Some people say that you need some kind of invitation to be part of this circle, but I assure you that it is not, and that we all have that invitation, "he added.

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Study analytics careers

Asked if a career in operations research and analytics is worth pursuing, Dr. Albert replied, “It's definitely worth it. If you love it, it will be worth it."

“One reason to do it is that analytics is the future. I know many colleagues who work with computer science and data science, and many projects are not directed at systems,” he explained. 

He added that as a society, he feels we are moving towards connected decision making, and that data analytics project developers have a lot to offer in connected decision making and work towards better solutions. 

“In addition, due to the pandemic, people are making different decisions compared to other years. I can't wait to see what else will be on our field."

Comments

Some comments from those attending Dr. Albert's talk were:

• Jose Ramirez: Laura, I just want to thank you for sharing your journey within operations research.
• Sofia Tejeda: Thank you for being an inspiration.
• Marco Antonio Zuñiga Guzman: Thank you! It was very motivating to hear about your admirable career and life experience.

Text: GES Communication