I am a postdoc at Sandia National Laboratories specializing in optimization and operations research. I received my PhD from the Department of Computational Applied Mathematics & Operations Research at Rice University. In addition to research, I am interested in teaching and mentoring students in STEM, involving students in mathematical research, and creating initiatives that aim to increase the participation of underrepresented students in academia. Here is my CV.
Contact info
- Email: rma10 [at] rice.edu
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachael-alfant/
Recent News
- I successfully defended my PhD thesis on May 1st!
- In March, I gave a talk at the Dartmouth Applied & Computational Mathematics Seminar.
- I was selected as a Level 3 Future Faculty Fellow for the 2023-2024 academic year.
- In August, I completed the Professional Leadership Coaching Program at the Doerr Institute for New Leaders.
Education
- Ph.D. Computational & Applied Mathematics, Rice University, May 2024
- M.A. Computational & Applied Mathematics, Rice University, May 2022
- B.A. Mathematics (General Honors), University of Chicago, March 2018
Publications
- R.M. Alfant, S. Perez-Salazar, A.J. Schaefer. Multi-period Capacity Allocation for Cloud Computing Systems with Stochastic Demand: A Multistage Approach. (In preparation).
- R.M. Alfant, S. Perez-Salazar, A.J. Schaefer. Optimizing Long-term Dynamic Pricing Policies in the Cloud. (In preparation).
- R.M. Alfant, T. Ajayi, A.J. Schaefer (2023). Evaluating Mixed-Integer Programming Models over Multiple Right-hand Sides. Operations Research Letters. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orl.2023.05.004.
- R.M. Alfant (2022). “To My Younger Self”: Bridging the Mentorship Gap for Underrepresented Students. INFORMS Diversity Community Blog. https://connect.informs.org/diversity/diversity-blog/bridging-mentor-gap.
Research Experience
- Postdoctoral Appointee, Sandia National Laboratories: Center for Computing Research, Current
- Visiting Graduate Student, Argonne National Laboratory: Mathematics & Computer Science Division, Fall 2022 - Spring 2023
- Givens Associate PhD Intern, Argonne National Laboratory: Mathematics & Computer Science Division, Summer 2022
- Research Assistant, University of Chicago: Booth School of Business, Summer 2019
- Research Assistant, University of Chicago: Dept. of Public Health Sciences, Summer 2018
Teaching
- Instructor of Record, Rice Emerging Scholars Program
- Differential Calculus, Summer 2023
- Teaching Assistant, Rice University: Industrial Engineering Master’s Program
- INDE 501: Fundamentals of Industrial Engineering, Fall 2022
- INDE 597: Revenue Management & Dynamic Pricing, Fall 2022
- INDE 572: Stochastic Processes & Simulation, Spring 2022
- Teaching Assistant, Rice University: Dept. of Computational & Applied Mathematics
- CAAM 378: Intro to Optimization & Operations Research, Fall 2021, Spring 2023
- Teaching Assistant, University of Chicago
- Chicago Academic Achievement Program, Honors Calculus with Proofs, Summer 2016/2018 (Evaluations: 4.8/5.0)
- College Core Tutoring Program, Calculus & Linear Algebra, Winter 2017
- Dept. of Mathematics, Math 131-132-133: Introduction to Calculus, Fall 2015-2016
Selected Awards and Honors
- Outstanding Graduate Student Research Poster - Honorable Mention, AWM-SIAM OP23 Poster Session, June 2023
- Best Poster Award (tied), AWM-SIAM AN22 Poster Session, July 2022
- Student Chapter Award for Scientific Excellence, Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM), June 2022
- Sallyport Award Nominee, Association of Rice Alumni, Apr 2022
- Robert Lowry Patten Award for Service & Achievement, Rice Graduate Student Association, Apr 2021
- Honorable Mention, Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship Program, Mar 2021
- Undergraduate Summer Research Grant, University of Chicago, June 2018
Selected Talks
- A Stochastic Nonlinear Programming Approach to Pricing in the Cloud
- INFORMS Annual Meeting, Oct 2023
- University of Pittsburgh: AWM Student Seminar, Oct 2023
- Rice CMOR (formerly CAAM) Graduate Seminar, Oct 2023
- Multistage Stochastic Mixed Integer Programming using Decomposition of Structured Programs (DSP)
- SIAM Conf. on Optimization (OP23): AWM Poster Session, May 2023
- Texas Women in Math Symposium, Mar 2023
- Rice CAAM Graduate Seminar, Feb 2023
- Summer Argonne Students Symposium, Aug 2022
- Absolute and Relative MIP Gap Functions & Their Properties
- INFORMS Annual Meeting, Oct 2022
- Rice CAAM Graduate Seminar, Sept 2022
- Periodicity of MIP Gap Functions
- Joint Mathematics Meetings: AWM Poster Session, Jan 2024
- ICERM - Trends in Computational Discrete Optimization: Poster Session, May 2023
- SIAM Annual Meeting (AN22): AWM Poster Session, July 2022
- Mixed Integer Programming Workshop: Poster Session, June 2022
- An Intro to Rice CAAM & Mixed Integer Programming
- Rice CAAM Visiting Student Lecture, Feb 2022
- Evaluating MIP Models over Multiple Right-hand Sides
- Rice CAAM Graduate Seminar, Oct 2021
- An Introduction to Set Theory
- Chicago Academic Achievement Program, Aug 2018
Selected Service
- Forum for Women in Operations Research/Management Science (WORMS)
- Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Liaison (Jan 2023 - Current)
- INFORMS Annual Meeting
- Session Chair (Oct 2023)
- Rice Dept. of CAAM
- Graduate Seminar Chair (Aug 2022 - Apr 2023)
- Graduate Advisory Committee Member (June 2020 - Dec 2022)
- Rice Chapter of AWM
- Vice President (Feb 2021 - Apr 2022), Secretary (Jan 2020 - Feb 2021)
- Organizing Committees: Texas Women in Math Symposium (Feb 2020 - Feb 2022), Rice AWM Math Nights & Freshman Math Mentorship Program (Aug 2020 - Jan 2022)
- Rice Chapter of SIAM
- President (Aug 2020 - Aug 2021), Secretary (Aug 2019 - Aug 2020)
- University of Chicago Young Scholars Program
- Teaching Assistant Volunteer (Jan 2015 - Mar 2017)