Hi INFORMS community,
The Junior Researchers in Industry, Nonprofits, and Government (JRING) Cohort is looking for guest speakers to join us for one of our monthly sessions. Our cohort brings together early-career researchers and practitioners spanning academia, industry, government, and the nonprofit sector, a genuinely curious and engaged group.
We meet on the 24th of each month, and we're looking for speakers who can present for 10–15 minutes on a topic of current relevance, followed by a Q&A. The format is conversational and collegial, it doesn't have to be a lecture, just someone willing to share what they know and field questions from a cross-sector audience.
Based on discussions with our cohort, the following topics are of particular interest:
Electric Grid Reliability and Data Centers - How is the industry managing the surge in always-on data center demand alongside an increasingly variable energy supply as coal retires and renewables scale up? We'd love to hear from a transmission planner, power systems analyst, or energy policy researcher.
Quantum Computing - An accessible introduction to the fundamentals (qubits, quantum gates, how it differs from classical computing) through to practical applications like scheduling optimization. Bonus points if you can speak to the quantum-reinforcement learning intersection or the comparative state of EU vs. US investment.
Harvest Now, Decrypt Later / Quantum Cryptography - What are the real implications of adversarial data harvesting ahead of quantum decryption capability, and how are governments, nonprofits, and institutions preparing? This is an underexplored topic our group is very eager to dig into.
Reinforcement Learning - A tutorial or lecture-style session on RL fundamentals and applications, pitched to a technically diverse audience.
AI in Nanostore Supply Chains - AI applications in the informal retail sector of emerging economies, where family-owned nanostores dominate market share but face significant resource and technology constraints. Sustainability and equity dimensions are a plus.
Tri-Level Optimization and Hub Location Problems - Real-world applications involving layered decision-making under adversarial disruption. Particularly interested in speakers who can bring a case study or connect the methodology to applied settings.
If you work in any of these areas and would be open to a conversation, or if you'd like to nominate a colleague, please feel free to reach out directly or drop a reply here. We're also distributed across time zones.
Thank you and looking forward to hearing from you via message!
Marie-Louise Thurton & Koushik Mondal
Co-Chairs, JRING Cohort 3 | INFORMS
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Marie-Louise Thurton
Toronto ON
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