1. Some people claim that technology can never be the answer to the bigger problems of our time. Is Operations Research able to actually help solve them?

“A striking characteristic of our field is that issues that appear to be completely different can actually be very similar from an analytics point of view. There are myriad degrees of freedom in the real world, too many for people to process, which is why you need smart algorithms and models to nail down the best solution. What is so remarkable about our field is that you can tackle highly diverse questions with mathematically identical models. Much has been written about analytics and its role in boosting humanitarian endeavors, but it is rarely applied in practice. Academics, after all, are judged solely on their publications, and most academics have no experience in turning theory into practice. To build something real, you need software skills: you have to create user-friendly software and update it too."

2. With Analytics for a Better World, you try to support NGO’s and governments in practice. Why haven’t they tapped into this field of expertise before?

“Analytics have proven their worth in creating value for business, and the brightest minds are now harnessed to sell more products. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but there is so much value to be created by applying analytics to the UN sustainable development goals. Companies have already cottoned on to the value of data, investing heavily in data storage and analysis. NGOs have not reached that point yet, due in part to the high salaries that experts can earn in the private sector. That's a shame. It’s easy for me to talk, as a tenured professor, but my main drive isn’t the money, it’s the satisfaction I get from my work. In our project on optimizing dike height, analytics enabled us to develop much better plans than the government had in mind, saving almost EUR 8 billion in the process. In other words, we now have a lot more money left to make the Netherlands a safer place.”

3. At the UN World Food Programme, the use of data science has earned 150 million dollars so far: enough to feed an extra two million people for a year. A drop in the ocean, or serious progress?

“When faced with all the misery around us, there are two ways to respond. One way is to say: why do anything when nothing will really help. Many people tend to take this view. Still, it is a clear fact that we have made major strides in combating world hunger over the past 50 years (pre-corona figures, ed.). Some 820 million people worldwide go hungry, and the World Food Program helps 10% of them with meals. But what should a daily meal for people in Syria look like? You must consider nutritional values and put together a comprehensive package while minimizing overall costs to help as many people as possible. It’s a tricky puzzle that the human mind can’t solve on its own, which is why we developed an optimization model with Zero Hunger Lab. My contributions may be small, the World Food Programme affects millions. Let’s not squander our gifts and talents on selling more products, but instead use them to benefit mankind. Most people are good, and most people, especially young ones, are capable of contributing to the world we live in.”

About Dick den Hertog

Dick den Hertog is professor of Operations Research at University of Amsterdam. His research interests cover various fields in prescriptive analytics, in particular linear and nonlinear optimization. In recent years his main focus has been on robust optimization, and recently he started research on Optimization with Machine Learning. He is also active in applying the theory in real-life applications. In particular, he is interested in applications that contribute to a better society.

He received the INFORMS Franz Edelman Award for Achievement in Advanced Analytics, Operations Research, and Management Science twice: in 2013 for his research on optimal flood protection in The Netherlands, and in 2021 for research on optimizing the food supply chain for the UN World Food Programme.

Currently, he is doing research to develop better optimization models and techniques for cancer treatment together with researchers from Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston, USA), and he is involved in research to optimize the locations of health care facilities in Timor-Leste and stroke centers in Vietnam together with the World Bank. He has been Visiting Professor at MIT for several years now. He is Science-to-Impact Director of the Analytics for a Better World Institute (analyticsbw.org), that he co-founded in 2022.