Rockefeller Foundation funds professor's studies

By Lou Wigdor, special to the Chronicle

he Rockefeller Foundation's Bellagio Program is funding a multidisciplinary research project by Operations Management professor Anna Nagurney and two colleagues.

     The project, "Dynamics of Complex Networks in an Environment of Risk and Uncertainty: Theoretical Foundations and Applications to Global Supply Chain and International Financial Networks," will develop a theory of complex networks under risk and construct algorithms that will improve decision making in global markets involving production quantities, shipments, environmental emissions, and financial flows. "We are determined to shed light on supply chain networks and international financial networks that will help governments and their societies to improve their economic competitiveness," said Nagurney.

     The professor and her colleagues - professor Patrizia Daniele at the University of Catania, Sicily, and professor Monica Gabriela Cojocaru at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario - will conduct most of their research project next March 10-24 at the Rockefeller Foundation's Study and Conference Center in Bellagio, Italy.
"The point is to 'sequester' us for two weeks so that we can brainstorm together to develop a framework for our research," Nagurney said. "Before we meet in Bellagio, we will be exchanging papers and ideas, but we'll do most of our work on site. We hope to generate research papers and ultimately a book from the experience. Recognition and support from the Rockefeller Foundation is a huge honor. We're extremely excited."

     The Bellagio Center was established in 1959 to enable scholars, scientists, artists, writers, and practitioners from all over the world to pursue their scholarly and creative work.

     For information on another recent Nagurney award, see the May 14 News Office story (http://umass.siterefresh.com/newsItem.php?pagename=annansf2003).