March 24, 2026
Dr. Lucas Waddell, Bucknell University, will present Integer Programming: Turning Scheduling Nightmares into Mathematical Dreams. Everyone welcome. Pizza provided.
This talk will take place on Tuesday, March 24, in Tome 115 at noon. Seems straightforward enough. But have you ever considered who made that decision? Or how they made it? Scheduling decisions affect our lives in countless ways every single day, yet scheduling remains one of the most notoriously difficult problems in mathematical optimization. ESPN famously introduced this phenomenon to mainstream audiences in their 30 for 30 Short documentary “The Schedule Makers” about Major League Baseball scheduling. One popular technique used to model and solve large-scale scheduling problems is called integer programming (IP). In this talk we will explore why scheduling is so difficult, and we will learn how to create IP models in the context of two real-world applications: (1) daily tutor scheduling at Hopeful Journeys Educational Center, a school for children with autism spectrum disorders and other developmental disabilities, and (2) final exam scheduling at Bucknell University.
Further information
- Location: Tome 115
- Time: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
- Cost: Free