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Download the latest version
of my CV [pdf] [updated 7/15/2012]
In five years at Virginia
Commonwealth University, I have established a research portfolio in homeland
security and emergency management.
Both of these research areas focus on how to manage risk and
uncertainty by using discrete optimization methodologies and algorithms. My homeland security research focuses on
screening issues for aviation and port security in order to prevent a nuclear
attack. My emergency management
research focuses on operational issues in emergency medical service (EMS) and
military medevacs systems in responding to
emergency calls. I have a particular
interest in combining these two research areas and examining how EMS systems
can be adapted to respond to patients during extreme weather events.
To support my research interests, I have pursued and received a total
of $1,154,613 in external and internal funding. My research has been supported by several
federal agencies, including the NSF, DHS, DOD, and the NSA. I received an NSF CAREER award in 2011 and
a Young Investigator Award from the Army in 2010.
I have been awarded several honors.
These honors include being named a Fellow in the NSF-sponsored
Enabling the Next Generation of Hazards Researchers program, receiving an
Outstanding IIE Publication Award, receiving an IIE Annual Conference Best
Publication Award, winning the Operations Research Challenge at the
Symposium on Operations Research and the Criminal Justice System in 2006, and
being a runner up in the INFORMS Computing Society student paper competition
in 2006.
I have thirty-one
journal articles published (in print or to appear), three refereed book
chapters, and four conference proceedings. I have presented my research at a
wide range of venues. I have given a
total of 42 talks, including ten seminars, nineteen invited talks at national
conferences, thirteen contributed talks at national conferences, plus three
poster presentations.
I have served as an
associate editor for the journal IIE
Transactions (2009 – present), as Vice-President of Meetings for the INFORMS
forum Women in OR/MS (WORMS) (2008-10), as Vice-President of
Communications for the INFORMS Section on OR/MS Applied to Public Programs,
Service and Needs (SPPSN) (2010 – present), and on the INFORMS IT committee
(2011 – present).
Note to Prospective Students
My research group is always looking for
talented and energetic graduate students to participate in research. Opportunities currently exist for graduate
students and talented undergraduate students in the areas of port security
and emergency medical services. I am
particularly interested in students who have a background in applied
mathematics, computer science, operations research, and engineering; students
who have taken courses in real analysis, probability, and discrete
mathematics; and students who are interested in applying discrete optimization
and approximation algorithms to problems in homeland security and emergency
response. Students must be able to
program (C, C++, Matlab), and knowledge of Excel
and LaTeX is a plus.
In the News
November 1, 2006 The link between the obesity
epidemic and fuel consumption in the United States is highlighted [Press release]
June 8, 2009 Risk-based aviation security
screening systems can be both efficient and effective. [Press release]
August 29, 2009 VCU Researcher finds Right
Mix of Resources is Critical in Reducing Emergency Medical Service Response
Times to Save Lives in Cardiac Arrest [Press
release]
July 2, 2010. Hanover Fire/EMS wins 2010 National Association of
Counties Achievement Award [News
article]
Education
Ph.D., May 2006, Industrial
Engineering with Computational Science
and Engineering option, University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Dissertation: Designing Effective Aviation
Security Systems: Theory and Practice
- Advisor: Sheldon H. Jacobson
M.S., December 2001, General Engineering with Computational Science and Engineering
option, University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign.
B.S., January 2000, General
Engineering with International
Minor in German, University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign.
Research Grants and contracts ($1,154,613)
Federal
1. National Security Agency, “Distinguished Visiting
Professor, Summer Programs in Operations Research Technology (SPORT),” PI,
$33,360, 5/16/2007 – 8/31/2007.
2. National Science Foundation, “ARI-SA: Multi-Layered System
Level Screening for Port Security,” PI, $292,077, CBET-0735735, 9/1/2007 –
8/31/2008. This was continued as
Department of Homeland Security, Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, 9/1/2008
– 8/31/2010.
3.
Department of the Army-Materiel Command, Army Research Office,
“Optimally Managing Dynamic Military Server-to-Customer Systems,” PI,
$150,000, 5/14/2010 – 5/13/2013.
4.
Plural Models for Adaptive Adversary Modeling, Department
of Homeland Security, Co-PI submitted through Innovative Decisions, Inc., Co-PI, $229,896.
5.
National
Science Foundation, “CAREER: Extreme
Weather Events and Emergency Medical Services: A Discrete Optimization
Modeling Framework”,
6/1/2011 – 5/31/2016, PI, $427,375.
Internal
6. American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant,
“Mathematical Modeling of Dynamic Cervical Cancer Screening Policies,” PI,
$15,740, IRG-73-001-31, 1/1/2007 – 12/31/2007.
7. Virginia Commonwealth University, Honors Summer
Undergraduate Research Project, Project advisor, $3000, 5/15/2008 –
7/14/2008.
8. Virginia Commonwealth University, Honors Summer Undergraduate Research Project, Project
advisor, $2225, 5/15/2009 – 7/14/2009.
9. Virginia Commonwealth University, Honors Summer Undergraduate Research Project, Project
advisor, $1000, 5/15/2010 – 7/14/2010.
Publications
Journal Publications
1. Vaughan,
D. E., S. H. Jacobson, S. N. Hall, and
L. A. McLay, 2005. "Simultaneous Generalized Hill Climbing Algorithms
for Addressing Sets of Discrete Optimization Problems,"
INFORMS
Journal on Computing 17(4) 1 – 12.
2. Jacobson,
S. H., L. A. McLay, J. E. Kobza,
J. M. Bowman, 2005. “Modeling and Analyzing Multiple Station Baggage
Screening Security System Performance," Naval Research Logistics
52(1), 30 – 45.
3. McLay, L. A. and D. E. Goldberg,
2005. “Efficient Genetic Algorithms using Discretization
Scheduling,” Evolutionary Computation 13 (3) 353 – 385.
4. Jacobson,
S. H., L. A. McLay, S. N. Hall, J. E. Orosz, 2005. “Performance Analysis of Cyclical Simulated
Annealing Algorithms,” Methodology and Computing in Applied Probability 7(2) 183 – 201.
5. Jacobson,
S. H., J. E. Virta, L. A. McLay,
J. E. Kobza, 2005. “Integer Program Models for the Deployment of
Airport Baggage Screening Security Devices,"
Optimization
and Engineering 6(3) 339 – 359.
6. McLay, L. A., S. H. Jacobson, and J. E.
Kobza, 2006.
“A Multilevel Passenger Prescreening Problem for Aviation Security,”
Naval Research
Logistics 53 (3), 183 – 197.
7. Jacobson,
S. H., L. A. McLay, S. N. Hall, D. Henderson,
D. E. Vaughan, 2006. “Optimal Search Strategies Using Simultaneous
Generalized Hill Climbing Algorithms,” Mathematical and Computer Modelling 49(9-10),
1061 – 1073
8. Jacobson,
S.H., L.A. McLay, 2006. “The Economic Impact of Obesity on Automobile Fuel
Consumption,” The
Engineering Economist 51(4), 307 – 323.
9. McLay, L. A., S. H. Jacobson, and J. E.
Kobza, 2007.
“Integer Programming
Models and Analysis for a Multilevel Passenger Screening Problem,” IIE Transactions 39(1), 73 – 81.
10. McLay, L. A. and S. H. Jacobson,
2007. “Integer Knapsack Problems with Set-up Weights,” Computational Optimization and Applications 37(1),
35 – 47.
11. McLay, L. A. and S. H.
Jacobson, 2007. "Algorithms for
the Bounded Set-Up Knapsack Problem," Discrete Optimization 4(2), 206 – 212.
12.
Nikolaev, A. G., S. H. Jacobson,
and L. A. McLay, 2007. “A Sequential Stochastic Security System
Design Problem for Aviation Security,” Transportation
Science 41(2), 182 – 194.
13.
Jacobson, S.H., and L.A.
McLay, 2009.
“Applying Statistical Tests to Empirically Compare Tabu
Search Parameters for MAX 3-SATISFIABILITY:
A Case Study,” Omega 37(3),
522-534.
14. McLay, L. A., S. H. Jacobson
and J.E. Kobza, 2008. “The Tradeoff between Technology and
Prescreening Intelligence in Checked Baggage Screening for Aviation Security,”
Journal of Transportation Security
1(2), 107 – 126.
15. McLay, L. A., S. H. Jacobson,
and A. G. Nikolaev, 2008. “A Sequential Stochastic Passenger
Screening Problem for Aviation Security,” IIE
Transactions 41(6), 575 – 591.
16.
McLay, L.A.,
2009. "A Maximum Expected
Covering Location Model with Two Types of Servers," IIE Transactions 41(8),
730 – 741.
17. Lee, A.J., L.A.
McLay, and S.H. Jacobson, 2009. “Designing Aviation Security Passenger
Screening Systems using Nonlinear Control.”
SIAM Journal on Control and Optimization 48(4), 2085 – 2105.
18. McLay, L.A.,
S.H. Jacobson, A.J. Lee, 2010. “Risk-Based
Policies for Aviation Security Checkpoint Screening.” Transportation
Science 44(3), 333-349.
19. McLay, L.A.
and M.E. Mayorga, 2010. “Evaluating Emergency Medical Service
Performance Measures.” Health Care Management Science 13(2), 124 - 136.
20. McLay, L.A.,
J. D. Lloyd, and E. Niman, 2011. “Interdicting Nuclear Material on Cargo
Containers using Knapsack Problem Models.”
Annals of Operations Research (to appear in print), published online DOI: 10.1007/s10479-009-0667-4.
21. Merrick, J.R.W., McLay, L.A., 2010. “Is Screening Cargo Containers for Smuggled
Nuclear Threats Worthwhile” Decision Analysis 7(2), 155 – 171.
22. McLay, L.A., Foufoulides, C., Merrick,
J.R.W., 2011. “Using Simulation
Optimization to Construct Cost-Effective Screening Strategies for Cervical Cancer.”
Health Care Management Science 13(4), 294 – 318.
23.
McLay, L.A., Dreiding, R.,
Howe, G.L. 2011. “Rethinking the
Encounter Probability for Direct-to-Target Nuclear Attacks for Aviation
Security,” Journal of Transportation Security 4(3), 447 – 480.
24.
Chanta, S., Mayorga, M.E., Kurz, M.E., McLay, L.A., 2011.
“The minimum p-envy location problem: A new model for equitable
distribution of emergency resources.” IIE Transactions on Healthcare Systems Engineering 1(2), 101 - 115.
25.
McLay, L.A., Mayorga, M.E., 2011.
“Evaluating the Impact of Performance Goals on Dispatching Decisions
in Emergency Medical Service.” IIE Transactions on Healthcare Service
Engineering (to appear).
26.
Chanta, S., Mayorga, M. E., McLay,
L. A., 2012. “Improving Rural Emergency Services without
Sacrificing Coverage: A Bi-Objective Covering Location Model for EMS Systems.” Annals
of Operations Research (to
appear).
27.
Rothschild, C., McLay, L.A.,
Guikema, S., 2012. “Adversarial
risk analysis with incomplete information: A level-k approach.” Risk Analysis (to appear).
28.
Bandar, D., Mayorga, M.E.,
McLay, L.A.,
2012. “Optimal Dispatching Strategies for Emergency Vehicles to
Increase Patient Survivability.” International Journal of
Operational Research (to appear).
29.
McLay, L.A., Moore, H.
2012. “Hanover County Improves Its Response to
Emergency Medical 911 Calls.” Interfaces (to appear).
30.
McLay, L.A., Brooks, J.P.,
Boone, E.L., 2012. “Analyzing the Volume and Nature of Emergency Medical
Calls during Severe Weather Events using Regression Methodologies.” Socio-Economic Planning Sciences (to appear).
McLay, L.A., Rothschild, C., Guikema, S., 2012. “Robust advesarial risk analysis: A level-k approach.” Decision Analysis (to appear).
Book Chapters
1.
McLay, L.A, 2011. “Risk-Based Resource Allocation Models for
Aviation Security.” Safety and Risk
Modeling and Its Applications, Springer (to appear).
2.
McLay, L.A., 2011.
“Emergency Medical Service Systems that Improve Patient Survivability.”
Encyclopedia of Operations Research
in the area of “Applications with Societal Impact,” ed. P. Keskinocak (to appear).
3.
Leclerc, P.D., L.A. McLay, M.E. Mayorga, 2011. “Modeling equity for allocating public resources.” Community-Based
Operations Research: Decision Modeling for Local Impact and Diverse
Populations, Springer (to appear).
Conference
Proceedings
1.
McLay, L.A., Jacobson, S.H., Kobza,
J.E., 2006. “Balancing Technology Capability Enhancement and Passenger
Prescreening Information for Aviation Baggage Screening, Proceedings of Safe
Skies Symposium, Washington,
DC.
2.
Jacobson,
S.H., Hall, S.N., McLay, L.A., 2006, “Visiting Near-Optimal
Solutions Using Local Search Algorithms.” Proceedings in Computational
Statistics, COMPSTAT 2006 (Editors, A. Rizzi, M. Vichi), Physica-Verlag,
Springer, Heidelberg, Germany, 471-481.
3.
Chanta, S., Mayorga, M., McLay, L., Wiecek, M., 2009, “A Bi-Objective Covering Location Model
for EMS Systems.” Proceedings of the 2009 Industrial
Engineering Research Conference. Won
Best Paper Award in the Operations Research track.
4.
Buede, D., Mahoney, S., Guikema, S., Ezell, B., McLay,
L., 2010. “Plural models for adaptive
adversary modeling.” Proceedings of the Workshop on Grand Challenges in
Modeling, Simulation, and Analysis for Homeland Security (MSAHS 2010).
Professional
Publications
1.
McLay, L.A.,
S.H. Jacobson, and J.E. Kobza, 2005. “Making Skies Safer: Applying Operations Research
to Aviation Passenger Prescreening Systems,” ORMS Today, 32(5),
24-31. Later reprinted in Analytics,
Spring 2008, 12-17.
2.
McLay, L.A., 2009.
“Interviewing for an academic position,” In Tips on getting an
academic position, Ed. Z.J. Pei, Lulu, 33 – 36.
This
page does not reflect an official position of Virginia Commonwealth
University.
Last updated 15 July 2012.
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