The ISE Department held its annual Alum Hall of Fame Breakfast on November 1st as part of Red and White Week and inducted five new members. Three members (George R. Auten Jr., Hsing P. Luh and Timothy Trainor) of the class of 2024 were awarded the Distinguished Alum Award, and the other two members (Lisa Cook and Natalia Summerville) received the Outstanding Young Alum Award.
Biography
Natalia Summerville leads the Applied Data Science team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where she drives advancements in cancer research and hospital care. Previously, she led Operations Research at SAS R&D, crafting innovative analytics solutions, and in 2022, received the SAS CEO Award for Excellence. Passionate about the Data4Good movement, Natalia applies her expertise to improving Human Milk Banks and joined the Human Milk Banking Association of North America’s board in 2024. Since 2015, she has volunteered on over ten national projects, using data science for social impact.
In addition to her professional roles, Natalia volunteers extensively with INFORMS, supporting the Pro-Bono Analytics board, the Franz Edelman Award committee, and co-leading sections of the annual conference. She also inspires future leaders through the “Doing Good with Good OR” student competition. A dedicated educator since 2005, Natalia has taught operations research, data analytics, and machine learning at institutions like Tecnologico de Monterrey, NC State, MIT, and Duke University, inspiring others to use data science for meaningful change.