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SPRING/SUMMER 1999 ARCHIVE Clemson Recognized as Leader in Orthopaedic Bioengineering Clemson University Mathematics: The Next National Champion? Clemson University, Southeast Leader in Invention Income Where the Rubber Meets the Roador Off-Road Clemson Students Win NSF Awards Professor Receives National Math Award Thomas Green Clemson Academy Welcomes Three New Members Dow Chemical Pledges More Than Half-Million Dollars to Film-Related Research Catfish: Improving Environment and Economy ACES Reunion and BBQ is Coming!  |
The Most Bang for the Buck Managing a national defense program with limited resources dictates selecting programs that optimize funding and capabilities. The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is supporting an interdisciplinary effort to model and analyze the project decision processes at ONR. Balancing needs with resources is critical in optimizing capabilities, which is where The Clemson University Affordability Modeling and Decision Analysis Project comes into play. A multidisciplinary team from mathematical sciences, accounting and financial management is developing a set of prototype tools for aiding decision-makers. The model provides a methodology for selecting and evaluating projects. A collection of science and technology proposals are evaluated by a panel that selects a subset to support. The costs and benefits of each project are assigned a current value. The portfolio of chosen projects must maximize benefits while meeting a given budgetary constraint. Comparing values helps managers make certain that defense moneys are invested optimally -- "getting the most bang for the buck." "The importance of selecting the combination of projects which optimizes defense capabilities is widely recognized," according to principal investigator, James Reneke. "No model or algorithm can entirely eliminate the need to rely on managerial experience, wisdom and intuition when identifying the optimal combination. However, objective and quantifiable models and methods are essential aids to management." The ONR grant, totaling $883,000, began in May 1997 and runs through September 1999. Members of the team in addition to Reneke include co-investigators Warren Adams, Marie Coffin, Peter Kiessler, Michael Kostreva, K.B. Kulasekera, William Ruckle, Matthew Saltzman, Margaret Wiecek and Calvin Williams from the Department of Mathematical Sciences. The grant also includes Lewis Bryan from accounting, John Harris from financial management and Kathrin Klamroth from Kaiserslautern University in Germany.
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