Susan E. Martonosi
Assistant Professor
301 Platt Blvd.
Claremont, CA 91711
martonosi @ math . hmc . edu
(909) 607-0481
On Sabbatical at Cornell University, School of Operations Research and
Information Engineering
July – Dec. 2008
My CV
Education
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA
Ph.D. 2005
Cornell University (Go Big Red!)
School of Operations Research and
Industrial Engineering
Ithaca, NY
B.S. 1999
Teaching
If you are an
instructor and would like to see my course syllabi or other teaching materials,
please feel free to contact me.
Math 187 –
Introduction to Operations Research: Fall 2007, Fall
2006
Math 159 –
Design and Analysis of Experiments: Spring 2007 (second half)
Math 158 – Linear
Statistical Models: Spring 2008 (second half), Spring
2006 (second half)
Math 157 –
Intermediate Probability: Spring 2009 (first half)
Math 63 –
Linear Algebra II: Spring 2009 (first half), Spring
2008 (first half), Spring 2007 (first half), Spring 2006 (first half)
Math 62 –
Introductory Probability and Statistics: Fall 2007 (Second half), Fall 2006
(Second half), Fall 2005 (Second half)
Math 12 -
Linear Algebra I and Discrete Dynamical Systems: Fall 2005 (First half)
Research
My research
focuses on the application of operations research models and methodology to
problems in homeland security. My
earlier work developed probabilistic models to guide aviation security policy
related to passenger and cargo screening and shipping container screening policy. My more recent work moves away from examining
individual security measures to focus on systematic approaches to
security. I use game theory, social
networks analysis and graph theory to solve problems in resource allocation and
terrorist network disruption.
A. Optimal Security Resource Allocation to Defend
Multiple Targets from Terrorist Attack
Many homeland
security models focus on system reliability in the event of an attack and
neglect deterrence: terrorists might choose not to attack or might shift their
focus to less desirable targets if the costs of attack become too high relative
to the benefits. This project develops
models for resource allocation in which a defender must invest limited
resources in protecting several targets, knowing that the attacker will respond
either by attacking a subset of those targets with heightened effort or by
giving up. I have worked with three
Harvey Mudd College undergraduates on this project:
Daniel Walton (now a Ph.D. student in mathematics at UCLA) studied the
single-target problem as a summer research assistant, Eugene Quan (now employed at Citadel Investment Group) examined
the two-target problem with budget constraints for his senior thesis in
mathematics, and Tim Sweda (a senior engineering
major) researched special cases of both problems as a summer research
assistant.
B. Disrupting Terrorist Networks
Large Islamic
terrorist organizations, such as al Qaeda, form complex social networks of
operatives connected in time and space.
Understanding the structure of these networks from a graph theoretic
perspective can help the United States decide how best to attack terrorist
networks to disrupt the organization. I
consider the question of how to attack a network in order to increase the
visibility, and therefore the accessibility, of a specific key member of a
network. I have worked with three Harvey
Mudd College undergraduates on this project: Michael
Ernst (entering a Ph.D. program in philosophy at UC Irvine) and Sean Plott (entering a Ph.D. program in Interactive Media at
USC) researched the effect of removing certain nodes from a graph on the
centrality of a specified key node; David Lapayowker
(currently a senior computer science major) examined the relationship between
minimum cuts of a graph and nodes having centrality.
I have also
conducted research with the RAND Corporation
as a summer associate (Jun-Aug 2004), examining the feasibility of screening
options for shipping containers at US ports.
My broader
interests are in using operations research for problems in the public interest,
such as health, education, environment and public safety.
Publications
“How Effective
Is Security Screening of Airline Passengers?”, Interfaces (a journal of INFORMS, the Institute
for Operations Research and Management Science) special issue on Homeland
Security Applications (with Arnold I. Barnett), 2006.
“Evaluating
the viability of 100 per cent container inspection at America’s ports”, The
Economic Impacts of Terrorist Attacks,
H. W. Richardson, P. Gordon, J. E. Moore II (eds.). Edward
Elgar Publishing, 2005. (with Henry Willis and
David Ortiz)
“An Operations Research Approach to Aviation
Security”, Ph.D. Thesis, MIT 2005
“Terror is in
the Air”, Chance (a journal of the American Statistical Association), Spring 2004. (with Arnold I.
Barnett)
Personal
Between
undergraduate and graduate school, I was a volunteer in the United States Peace Corps, teaching high
school math in Guinea,
West Africa. Click here for some
photos/description
At MIT, I was
a member of Rambax
MIT, a Senegalese sabar drumming ensemble.
I also like to
swim, run, play the piano and sing karaoke.