How to put those interests to the best use was not so clear to me at the time. The systems engineering curriculum gave me the opportunity to obtain a broad-based engineering education and develop my skills in human factors, operations research, economics, and computer science. Mathematics was the singular thread throughout all these disciplines. As it turned out, the opportunities upon graduation with my background were both numerous and varied. My first job, with a federal government contract-research center, provided the means to pursue my interest in operations research.
Operations research seeks to use mathematical algorithms to allocate scarce resources.
The interesting part of this field is formulating mathematical models that describe meaningful problems, working out solutions of the models, and then interpreting the results to those who posed the problem. At Northwest Airlines and currently at USAir, I have had the opportunity to define problem approaches, model them mathematically, develop solutions and guide the implementation of the results. The successful conclusion to these projects saves the company millions of dollars. As I gain more experience with USAir, mathematics continues to be the central focus of all that I do. Being able to translate business situations and problems into a mathematical model is an invaluable skill to possess in the corporate world.