There is an old adage that says, if you give a monkey a typewriter and let it type long enough, it will eventually produce the Encyclopedia Britannica. Well, we've got a pretty smart monkey (your basic industrial engineer), and a really fast typewriter (a multi-gigahertz PC). This seminar is about how we can use analysis, and the concept of randomization to solve real combinatoric problems. We review a number industrial of problems, and their real solutions. A key issue is to keep the technology low enough that fundamental analysis of the problem (and good coding skills) will be sufficient for success.

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Please plan to attend what promises to be an interesting, perhaps even provocative talk.

Professor Hodgson is an IE faculty member and former department head at NC State, retired sky-diver, and recent inductee to the National Academy of Engineering.