Prof. Blanchet to Participate in NAE Symposium

Jul 16 2015 | Photo: Eileen Barroso

Jose Blanchet, associate professor of industrial engineering and operations research, has been selected to participate in the National Academy of Engineering 2015 U.S. Frontiers of Engineering (USFOE) Symposium. Blanchet is one of 89 of the nation’s most promising engineering researchers from industry, academia, and government, ages 30 to 45, who are conducting exceptional engineering research and technical work in a broad range of disciplines.


Professor Blanchet.

“The USFOE symposium brings together some of our nation’s brightest young engineering talents and gives them the opportunity to develop professional relationships that become critical [to] their advancing our nation’s well-being throughout their careers,” said NAE President C. D. Mote, Jr.

Blanchet’s research interests include applied probability, computational finance, queuing theory, rare-event analysis, simulation methodology, and risk theory. The USFOE symposium will be held September 9 to 11 at the National Academies’ Beckman Center in Irvine, CA, and will cover cutting-edge developments in four key areas: cybersecurity, forecasting natural disasters, optical and mechanical materials, and engineering the search for earth-like exoplanets.

“Jose's work is truly interdisciplinary,” notes Professor Garud Iyengar, chair of the Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research. “He works on problems involving deep mathematics that have had significant impact on a wide range of areas including capital requirements for reinsurance networks, the stability of electricity networks, and the impact of extreme weather events. This honor recognizes the very significant contributions that Jose has already made and will continue to make to the field of operations research.”

In 2010, Blanchet received the Erlang Prize from the Applied Probability Society (APS) of INFORMS for his significant contribution to applied probability, and a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) for his “extraordinary research using simulations for estimating the likelihoods of rare but potentially catastrophic events.”

The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Sciences and, as of July 1, 2015, the National Academy of Medicine, which has assumed membership, honorific, and other functions formerly administered by the Institute of Medicine. The National Academies are considered the nation's premier source of independent, expert advice on scientific, engineering, and medical issues.

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