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Optimality GapAuthor: Clemson University INFORMS Student Chapter
Many students may start graduate school with a vague idea about areas they would like to study or perhaps a few general research questions. Join us, the Clemson University INFORMS Student Chapter, as we interview different OR faculties from across and outside the campus to talk about research in graduate school. If you want to conduct excellent research and learn what the different OR faculties from Clemson University and other top institutions are working on or want to excel in graduate school this show is for you. Language: en Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it Trailer: |
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S04 E01: A Conversation with Dr. Esra Büyüktahtakın Toy
Thursday, 13 November, 2025
Dr. Esra Büyüktahtakın Toy is a Professor in the Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech and the Director of the Systems Optimization and Machine Learning (SysOptiMaL) Lab. She is also an affiliated faculty member with the Global Change Center, the Invasive Species Collaborative, and the Center for Emerging, Zoonotic and Arthropod-borne Pathogens at Virginia Tech. Her research advances multi-stage stochastic mixed-integer programming and integrates machine learning, deep reinforcement learning, and computational optimization to support risk-averse decision-making under uncertainty. She applies these methods in epidemic disease modeling, healthcare logistics, invasive species management, agriculture, forestry, cancer treatment planning, and undersea warfare search operations. Dr. Toy has received significant recognitions including the NSF CAREER Award, the NSF EPSCoR First Award, five INFORMS Best Publication Awards, and major external funding from agencies such as the NSF, USDA, U.S. Forest Service, and the Office of Naval Research. She has published 45 peer-reviewed journal articles and has contributed extensively to the OR community through invited seminars, keynote talks, panel service, and interdisciplinary collaborations.
