Sign in

Austin Buchanan

@austinlbuchanan.bsky.social
319 followers 329 following 185 posts

Associate Professor of Industrial Engineering & Management. Interests in #orms #networks #districting. Senior Member of INFORMS. Blogs at farkasdilemma.wordpress.com Website: austinlbuchanan.github.io

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Austin Buchanan
Johan Ugander @jugander.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
My Yale colleague Dan Spielman has started a substack, which I thought I'd signal boost since Dan is an outstanding thinker and communicator (and person!) but isn't on social media much. Here's his first substantive post from a month ago: mathadjacent.com/p/llms-testi...
mathadjacent.com
LLMs, Testing, Grade inflation, and Accommodations
Like every professor, I’ve been worrying about how AI systems will force us to change our teaching practices.
1228
Reposted by Austin Buchanan
Aaron Roth @aaroth.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
I don't have an opinion about these papers specifically because I haven't read them. But I do think that acceptance criteria will have to and will change. And they will have to focus much more on exposition and clarity than they used to.
021
Reposted by Austin Buchanan
Eleonora Vercesi @eleonoravercesi.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Our paper "The Dantzig-Fulkerson-Johnson TSP formulation is easy to solve for few subtour constraints" with @austinlbuchanan.bsky.social is accepted at INFORMS Journal on Optimization! TL;DR: -Constant # SECs → polynomial time -Minimum # SECs needed to prove optimality can be computed Preprint👇
191
Austin Buchanan @austinlbuchanan.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
New Paper: “A guide to inexact contiguity constraints” with Ishaan Jolly optimization-online.org/2026/08/a-gu... #orms
181
Austin Buchanan @austinlbuchanan.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
“…unless forced to do it by referees…” 😂
140
Austin Buchanan @austinlbuchanan.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
My PhD student Xiaocong and I wrote a chapter on congressional apportionment, emphasizing the connections between mathematical optimization and classical apportionment methods (e.g., Jefferson, Adams, Hamilton, Webster, Huntington-Hill). Each solves an MINLP optimization-online.org/2026/08/cong...
optimization-online.org
Congressional Apportionment – Optimization Online
0101
Austin Buchanan @austinlbuchanan.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Mathemaricians be like: “Either e+\pi or e*\pi is irrational—or is it both? But, nah, I can’t tell you which one”. Judges be like:
020
Reposted by Austin Buchanan
angela zhou @angelamczhou.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
It is simultaneously true that 1) recent advances in LLMs made real progress in solving open problems, and they are a step change better and 2) a lot of the problems we ask llms about are not major open problems. LLMs will give math solutions without appropriate attribution
2142
Reposted by Austin Buchanan
angela zhou @angelamczhou.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
www.yahoo.com/news/science...
021
Austin Buchanan @austinlbuchanan.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
From Katya Scheinberg: “A special session was held on June 4th, 2026 at SIAM Optimization Conference to discuss the use of artificial intelligence in the peer-review process... The summary of the discussion is posted here” www.mathopt.org/events-and-d...
mathopt.org
Mathematical Optimization Society
Promoting the development and application of optimization methods worldwide.
052
Reposted by Austin Buchanan
arxiv cs.DS @arxiv-cs-ds.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Amir Ali Ahmadi, Pravesh K. Kothari, Yukai Tang A Polynomial-Time Algorithm for Coloring Perfect Graphs Based on Walk Counting arxiv.org/abs/2607.09309
031
Reposted by Austin Buchanan
Marco Lübbecke @mluebbecke.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Georgios Paschos of Amazon talked about their fulfillment optimization problems where they apply a lot of #orms check out lesson 2, you MIP lovers! #ifors2026
011
Austin Buchanan @austinlbuchanan.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Ian Ludden was interviewed for an INFORMS podcast episode about redistricting. #orms @informs.bsky.social podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/r...
podcasts.apple.com
Redistricting: Designing the election battlefield
Podcast Episode · Resoundingly Human · June 26 · 24m
241
Austin Buchanan @austinlbuchanan.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
To my surprise, it is mathematically possible to draw many state legislative districts using whole precincts and achieve 1-person deviation. Here is an example for New Mexico’s State Senate, with all 42 districts having population either 50,417 or 50,418. davesredistricting.org/join/8aea248...
davesredistricting.org
NM_vtd_SS_1person
Redistricting Map
040
Austin Buchanan @austinlbuchanan.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
static.klipy.com
Seinfeld: Jerry's 'That's Gold!' Moment
ALT: Seinfeld: Jerry's 'That's Gold!' Moment
020
Reposted by Austin Buchanan
Chris Kenny, PhD @chriskenny.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
3 new projects: 1/3 an Algorithmic Redistricting Atlas. Explore congressional redistricting across enacted, simulated, and optimized maps. It has data for the last 5 presidential elections, and you can swing the national baseline.
184
Austin Buchanan @austinlbuchanan.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Some unusual ways to calculate overall grades in OR courses. Anyone use these? www.overleaf.com/read/qmswrbx... #orms
2160
Austin Buchanan @austinlbuchanan.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
If you work on districting problems long enough, you’ll start to see things. This Iowa map comes from a paper in progress with David Bergman, Leo Lozano, and Jamie Tucker-Foltz. The painting is by Max Ernst.
130
Austin Buchanan @austinlbuchanan.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
Early stunt from the #GiantMeteor2028 campaign
020
Austin Buchanan @austinlbuchanan.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Districting at Amazon pubsonline.informs.org/doi/full/10.... @informs.bsky.social #orms
052
Austin Buchanan @austinlbuchanan.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
How many sheets of A10 paper can you cut from an A0 sheet? This question featured in the latest Matt Parker video youtu.be/XllQPr8FtPE?... @standupmaths.bsky.social
youtu.be
The paper scale system is broken.
YouTube video by Stand-up Maths
160
Austin Buchanan @austinlbuchanan.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Future collaboration idea with @baabbbaash.bsky.social
140
Austin Buchanan @austinlbuchanan.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
A nice video on the Mercator map projection from @drjoehanson.bsky.social and @pbs.org Be Smart youtu.be/p-9wxYdJing?...
youtu.be
Something Strange Happens When You Flatten the Earth…
YouTube video by Be Smart
010
Austin Buchanan @austinlbuchanan.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
TIL that gerrymandering is part of the Orban story
020
Austin Buchanan @austinlbuchanan.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
For all the LP and MIP enthusiasts out there #orms
040
Austin Buchanan @austinlbuchanan.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
Current mood
000
Austin Buchanan @austinlbuchanan.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
To all the linear programming enthusiasts out there, how are you gearing up for dual variables day? #orms
051
Austin Buchanan @austinlbuchanan.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
Not the Onion. RIP Lizard www.news9.com/oklahoma-cit...
110
Austin Buchanan @austinlbuchanan.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
Okay, who’s gonna MIP it first? And make a web interface? #orms
030
Reposted by Austin Buchanan
Eleonora Vercesi @eleonoravercesi.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
📢 Abstract submission for the EUROYoung Workshop 2026 in Lugano (CH) opens soon! 📅 Workshop: 14–16 October 2026 📝 Abstracts: 10 March – 15 April 2026 Join young researchers in OR for talks, networking & social events. 💻 euroyoung.eu/lugano2026 📧 euroyoung2026@usi-supsi.ch @euroyoung.bsky.social
euroyoung.eu
The 6th EUROYoung Workshop - Lugano 2026
This is the site made for showing activities and opportunities for early career researchers in operations research.
021
Austin Buchanan @austinlbuchanan.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
If I were creating a GenAI tool for vibe coding, I’d call it ALollipop
240
Reposted by Austin Buchanan
Rick Hasen @rickhasen.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
Breaking: Supreme Court Reverses Lower Court Order That Redrew Congressional Map in Staten Island, with Ominous Implications for Voting Rights Act electionlawblog.org?p=154596
electionlawblog.org
Breaking: Supreme Court Reverses Lower Court Order That Redrew Congressional Map in Staten Island, with Ominous Implications for Voting Rights Act #ELB
I’m on the road so this will be brief. The Supreme Court over the dissent of the three liberal Justices reversed a lower court order requiring the drawing of a minority opportunity district that the l...
12240138
Reposted by Austin Buchanan
Blake Esselstyn @mapblake.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
In 2019 I created a Story Map explainer of NC's distinctive county grouping requirement for legislative redistricting. Soon that resource will vanish (Esri is retiring that old platform). If you want a refresher on the so-called "Stephenson" process, now's the time! #NCPol 1/3 arcg.is/1DnDO
arcg.is
This story map was created with the Story Map Cascade application in ArcGIS Online.
121
Austin Buchanan @austinlbuchanan.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
Essentially, a heuristic method to minimize county splitting, as proposed by NC courts
110
Reposted by Austin Buchanan
Alexander Helber @ahelber.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
Question for #orms people: do you know any problem-specific cutting planes that are not too hard to explain and separate and would improve performance compared to a baseline MIP solver (e.g. SCIP, Gurobi)? Asking because its more fun for students if they implement something and it helps performance
354
Austin Buchanan @austinlbuchanan.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
There’s a new paper on arXiv saying the matching polytope has extension complexity O*( 1.5^n ), beating the Edmonds bound O( 2^n ).
040
Austin Buchanan @austinlbuchanan.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
Districts of the engineering honor society Tau Beta Pi: www.tbp.org/districts.cfm
000
Reposted by Austin Buchanan
Sariel Har-Peled @sarielhp.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
Why are LaTeX's default page margins so wide? www.johndcook.com/blog/2012/09...
johndcook.com
LaTeX: the paper is too big
In response to the question "Why are default LaTeX margins so big?" Paul Stanley answers It's not that the margins are too wide. It's that the paper is too big! This sounds flippant, but he gives a co...
011
Reposted by Austin Buchanan
Chris Warshaw @chriswarshaw.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
I was grateful to be quoted in this great early look at the midterms in today's Washington Post. As I told the reporter, I think the redistricting wars are basically a draw in the short-term, but the long-term loser is American democracy. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
1164
Austin Buchanan @austinlbuchanan.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
New Publication Ethics Policy for @informs.bsky.social. Created partially to address “emerging challenges unique to today’s publishing environment, including the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI)” pubsonline.informs.org/do/10.1287/o...
pubsonline.informs.org
Strengthening Ethical Standards in Scholarly Publishing at INFORMS | ORMS Today
INFORMS has long been committed to advancing research of the highest quality. With over 11,000 annual submissions across 17 journals, the vitality of our publishing program reflects both the ambition ...
071
Austin Buchanan @austinlbuchanan.bsky.social · 30/12/2025
I have desk-rejected papers for many reasons. This year was the first time I did so because of non-existent references
050
Austin Buchanan @austinlbuchanan.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
Our #orms paper was plagiarized in an expert witness’s report (Exhibit A in Williams v. NYBOE). I don’t know whether to be flattered or upset… Expert report: vhdshf2oms2wcnsvk7sdv3so.blob.core.windows.net/thearp-media... Our paper: pubsonline.informs.org/doi/abs/10.1...
2130
Austin Buchanan @austinlbuchanan.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
Districting at Amazon #orms www.amazon.science/news-and-fea... optimization-online.org/2025/12/the-...
amazon.science
Sizing down to scale up: How Amazon reworked its fulfillment network to meet customer demand
The pandemic turbo-charged retail growth — teams of scientists at Amazon forged a path forward to handle the scale.
060
Reposted by Austin Buchanan
Sridhar Ramesh @radishharmers.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
When cartoon characters discuss numbers in base ten rather than base eight, it takes me completely out of my suspension of disbelief. Their society would not have developed that way.
9733128
Austin Buchanan @austinlbuchanan.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
The scgraph team has a nice example showing how to populate data for the 49-city TSP instance of Dantzig, Fulkerson, and Johnson colab.research.google.com/drive/1tki1Q... #orms
colab.research.google.com
Google Colab
040
Austin Buchanan @austinlbuchanan.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
This semester, I used Python+Gurobi to assign ~70 graduate student TAs to ~20 courses. Here’s (roughly) the code that I used, as applied to a toy example github.com/AustinLBucha... #orms @gurobioptimization.bsky.social
github.com
050
Reposted by Austin Buchanan
Julia Lynch @jlynch13.bsky.social · 16/11/2025
This may be the best thing ive read yet on AI in higher ed, and its written by a Yale undergrad. Highly recommend.
thenewjournalatyale.com
Inside Yale’s Quiet Reckoning with AI | The New Journal
Amid ChatGPT's rising popularity and a computer science cheating scandal, Yale students, professors, and administrators wrestle privately with the proper role of AI in education. What happens when eve...
13295109
Austin Buchanan @austinlbuchanan.bsky.social · 09/11/2025
The TN state constitution requires maps to split as few counties as possible. Our recent paper finds the enacted map splits twice this amount bsky.app/profile/aust...
050
Reposted by Austin Buchanan
The Redistrict Network (mirror 🤖) @redistrictnet.bluesky.bot · 06/11/2025
Americans momentarily searched for Redistricting more than Taylor Swift yesterday.
021
Reposted by Austin Buchanan
Jannis Kurtz @jannisku.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
For anyone who missed the talk, he talked about this in the #ROW some time ago: youtu.be/ZpMgnrKhWzU?...
youtu.be
Bradley Sturt - Improving the Security of United States Elections with Robust Optimization (ROW Talk
YouTube video by Robust Optimization Webinar
041