Below we provide a sample of our projects. We work in a variety of application areas. The common themes are operational processes, human decision-making, and organizational decision structures.
Market system monitoring in Uganda
Measuring change in complex systems is challenging. We worked with USAID/Uganda to develop novel ways to measure systemic change in agricultural market systems.
Emergency response times in the metro system
Emergency incidents happen frequently throughout the sprawling Washington-area metro system. We worked with WMATA to project emergency response times from various locations in the metro system, in order to support decisions about where to base responders.
Improving throughput for COVID-19 testing
COVID-10 testing capacity was far short of the need for it in the US and throughout the world. We worked with laboratories to identify bottlenecks and expand testing capacity through process changes.
Modeling cervical cancer screening in Peru
Cervical cancer is an entirely preventable disease, yet screening is difficult to implement cost-effectively in resource-limited settings. We develop simulation models to support choices on implementing and scaling up screening operations in Amazonian Peru.
Organizational structures for complex system design at NASA
When designing or operating complex systems, it's important that the organization's structure be set up to "fit" the architecture of the system being designed. We studied NASA's concurrent design teams to understand whether and why problems arise in the design process, based on communication among designers.
Decentralized decision-making architectures
Complex decision-making organizations such as military command and control must perform well in rapidly changing environments. We explore how decentralizing decisions affects flexibility and robustness.
Locating disaster recovery centers with FEMA
After a disaster, FEMA opens centers for people to learn how they can access resources. We worked with them to analyze data and develop models suggesting appropriate numbers and locations for disaster recovery centers.
Healthcare supply chain responsiveness to emergencies
The US Strategic National Stockpile prepares for health emergencies by stocking key goods like needles and syringes. In this pre-COVID project, we examined strategies for dealing with large surges in demand for medical products.