Handbook of Military and Defense Operations Research

Natalie M. Scala is a professor in the College of Business and Economics and a fellow of the Center for Interdisciplinary and Innovative Cybersecurity at Towson University. She earned Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in industrial engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. Her primary research is in decision analysis, with specialization in military and security issues, including risk in voting systems, attack trees and strength of threat in mail voting, integrity of votes throughout the supply chain, poll worker education, and cybersecurity metrics and best practices. She co‑directs the Empowering Secure Elections research lab, which defines threats to voting as systemic and an interplay between cyber, physical, and insider sources. Her work in elections security earned a University System of Maryland Board of Regents Award for Excellence in Public Service, the system’s highest faculty honor. In conjunction with Anne Arundel County, Maryland, her work in cybersecurity and threat training for poll workers received a U.S. Elections Assistance Commission Clearinghouse Award for Outstanding Innovation in Election Cybersecurity and Technology.Dr. Scala frequently consults for government clients and has extensive professional experience, including positions with Innovative Decisions, Inc. / ITA International, the United States Department of Defense, and the RAND Corporation, as well as a faculty affiliation with the University of Maryland’s Applied Research Lab for Intelligence and Security. She is an associate editor for Military Operations Research and is a Past President of the Military and Security Society of INFORMS.James P. Howard, II is a multifaceted professional with extensive experience in data science, consulting, teaching, and community service. He has previously worked as a consultant to various United States government agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Executive Office of the President, and the Department of Homeland Security. Additionally, he served as an internal consultant on scientific computing for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.Dr. Howard is also deeply committed to education, having taught mathematics and statistics at the University of Maryland Global Campus since 2010, as well as public affairs at other institutions. His career highlights include involvement in innovative projects such as modeling the spread of infectious diseases, predicting global events, researching blockchain applications in government, and designing rescue devices for building collapse scenarios. He has authored and co‑edited several books on these subjects.

• Part I Approaches 1 Modern Data Analytics for the Military Operations Researcher; 2 Microsoft Excel: The Universal Tool of Analysis; 3 Multiattribute Decision Modeling in Defense Applications; 4 Military Workforce Planning and Modeling; 5 Military Assessments; 6 Threatcasting in a Military Setting; 7 Analytical Modeling of Stochastic Systems; 8 Modern Methods for Characterization of Social Networks through Network Models; 9 Process Optimization through an 8‑Step Structured Problem‑Solving Method; 10 Simulation Optimization; 11 Analytical Test Planning for Defense Acquisitions; 12 Influence Diagrams for Risk Management in Military and Defense; 13 Wavelet Methods for Time Series Forecasting; 14 Simulation Validation Literature Review; Part II Applications 15 A Model for and Inventory of Cybersecurity Values: Metrics and Best Practices; 16 Applying Information Theory to Validate Commanders’ Critical Information Requirements; 17 Modeling and Analysis of the Army’s Sustainable Readiness Model Scheduling Problem; 18 Applying High Performance Computing Analytics for Understanding Weather Impacts on Installations; Part III Soft Skills and Perspectives 19 Why Won’t They Use Our Model?; 20 Lessons Learned from Military Fast Jet Life Support System Test Planning

Praise for the previous editionListen to Natalie Scala talking about election security and her book Handbook of Military and Defense Operations Research on Problem Solved, a podcast by IISE here.“This handbook, edited by Scala (Towson Univ.) and Howard (Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins Univ.) comprises four parts. Part 1 presents ten key activities involved in operations research (OR), including mastery of data analytics, structured problem solving, and simulation optimization, among others. Part 2, titled "Soft Skills and Client Relations," explores the practicalities of persuading users to actually implement and test the theoretically developed OR solutions. The third part, "Applications," offers a set of case studies on how various OR techniques and modeling approaches have been applied in different contexts, e.g., cybersecurity, terrorist group activities, and engineering cost and risk management. Part 4, "Perspectives," deals with the relationship between OR and data science, and especially the issues surrounding modernization of OR education within the military to meet its inevitably changing needs both today and in the future. Though the emphasis throughout the book is on specific military issues and applications, the methods and cases discussed would be applicable for use in OR courses offered in nonmilitary institutions. In addition to being a natural acquisition for libraries of military academies, the book would find a readership in the libraries of all institutions where OR courses are offered.”—CHOICE Review"The Handbook of Military and Defense Operations Research is an excellent introduction to the application of operations research and analytics techniques to current defense related problems."—Emeritus Professor Steve Horton, United States Military Academy"The editors and contributors are a 'who’s who' of operations research professionals in the field of applied national security analytics. This Handbook should occupy a prominent location on every analyst’s bookshelf – from undergraduate student to senior practitioner – and its techniques should be in every analyst’s toolkit."—Brian Morgan, President-Elect, Military Operations Research Society"This reference book has important papers on all the topics needed for a practitioner of military OR to improve his or her skills toolbox. This book will not collect dust on a shelf. It will be used regularly."—Professor Robin Dillon-Merrill, Georgetown University"Scala’s experience and observations inspired her research interests as a professor and recently motivated her decision to write her first book, Handbook of Military and Defense Operations Research[. . . .] The book offers tools and techniques that help transition a person from learning operations research and analytics in school to applying it in a new problem space – namely, defense. Or, it works vice-versa; the same tools and techniques could help a person who has experience in the military but may not have formal education in analytics."—Jenna Harrity, Business Dialog, Towson University"The Handbook of Military and Defense Operations Research will make a great addition to any defense analyst’s library. With contributions from some of the most well-known practitioners and researchers in the defense analysis field, this volume provides a great introduction to modern analytic methods and how they apply to critical problems in national defense."—Andrew Loerch, Professor and Associate Chair, Department of Systems Engineering and Operations Research, George Mason University“Providing a listing of the contributors and their credentials, this newly revised and expanded second edition of "Handbook of Military and Defense Operations Research" from CRC Press will prove of immense interest and value to readers with an interest in military and defense operations research, the role of industrial production and management for the military, as well as business operations research with the military, along with military operations probability and statistics. Illustrated throughout with tables, charts and illustrations, "Handbook of Military and Defense Operations Research, second edition" is especially and unreservedly recommended for professional, corporate, governmental, and college/university library collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists and reference resources.”—Midwest Book Review