With your background in applied math and experience running your own multimillion-dollar educational publishing company, why did you want to earn a Ph.D. in Applied Management and Decision Sciences specializing in Operations Research?

 

The Ph.D. was something I always wanted. I had started coursework toward a Ph.D. in mathematics when I was 20 years old, but stopped for various reasons. Looking back, I believe I lacked perspective on the importance of having an advanced degree. At 21, I earned a master’s in statistics, and in my 20s I worked as an engineer, started and ran my own publishing company, wrote several math textbooks, and did a small amount of teaching. I returned to teaching in earnest later in my career.

 

In light of my accomplishments, many people just assumed I had a Ph.D. When they would occasionally ask about it, I would have to correct them and say, “No, I do not have a Ph.D.” This bothered me. It ate at me, in fact. The Ph.D. was something that I wanted, even if I didn’t need it. So I decided to get the degree to feel a sense of completion. Walden’s Ph.D. in Applied Management and Decision Sciences allowed me to focus on higher mathematics in an online program.

 

What were the challenges of completing your dissertation?

 

Since I was breaking new ground mathematically, my dissertation committee members could only offer so much assistance. My research culminates in proofs, and with mathematics, the proofs either stand on their own, or they don’t. When I couldn’t find the answers, I had to push through the “walls” on my own. Even though I felt very alone, this actually helped me grow as a researcher.

 

What was your dissertation committee’s role?

 

Dr. Kim Ross helped me in many ways, most notably with the organization of the dissertation: how much background information to present and how much to assume the readers would already know. She also helped me manage the bureaucratic process, so nothing got hung up. Leonard Haff, a math professor and my former advisor at the University of California, San Diego, was also on my committee. He was very excited about my work, not only its elegance and simplicity, but also the fact that no one had ever noticed this phenomenon before.

 

How long did it take to complete the proofs?

 

I did nothing but my doctoral work—including four KAMS and several classes— for 11 months. It took me about one and a half months to write the dissertation, although I worked on it at a very low level from the beginning of my doctoral work. It was a big push timewise because I thought another researcher would discover the proofs before I did—or simultaneously—as often happens in the world of mathematics research. So I was motivated to be the first.

 

What will be the impact of your research? How will it help people?

 

Since noncontributory data can be identified before the dependent variable data is even collected, this research can be used as a tool to help statisticians structure their input data more efficiently and analyze existing data with better understanding. Any phenomenon that has a potential effect on the accuracy of predictions has broad implications for research in every field that uses modeling and prediction. In fields of medicine, for example, better predictions could literally help doctors make more accurate diagnoses and patients make decisions about treatment based on more accurate information.

 

 

 

 

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