Cornell alum returns to share crime-solving algorithm in University Lecture

Lawrence M. Wein '79, a Cornell alumnus and the Jeffrey S. Skoll Professor of Management Science at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, will return to campus on Oct. 7 to deliver a public lecture on using algorithms to accelerate forensic genealogy.

His talk, "An Algorithm That Solves Crimes,"will take place from 4:15-5:15 p.m. in Gates G-01, with a livestream and reception to follow. The event is part of the Dean of Faculty University Lectureseries and the Center for Data Science for Enterprise and Society's Distinguished Lectureseries.

Wein will describe a new approach to forensic investigative genetic genealogy that can identify suspects up to 25 times faster than standard methods. He and genealogist Barbara Rae-Venter - known for her role in solving the Golden State Killer case - have begun applying the algorithm to stalled cold cases.

"Larry is a visionary leader who has the remarkable ability to understand how a thorny analytical question can be addressed with a computational model, supplying the technical foundations, their implementation, and the understanding to translate the results to policy - and this is made even more impactful by his astounding ability to communicate the essence effectively to a broad audience, whether the subject deals with homeland security, HIV prevention, or as in his upcoming talk here, criminology." said David Shmoys, director of the Center for Data Science for Enterprise and Societyand the Laibe/Acheson Professor of Business Management and Leadership Studies in Cornell Engineering's School of Operations Research and Information Engineering.

Wein - a 1979 graduate of Cornell Engineering and a member of the National Academy of Engineering - is internationally recognized for his research in operations management and public health. He has received numerous honors, including the Erlang Prize, the Frederick W. Lanchester Prize and the INFORMS President's Award.

This event is a University Lectureand Data Science Distinguished Lectureco-sponsored with the Center for Data Science for Enterprise and Society, the SC Johnson College of Business, and the School of Operations Research and Information Engineering.

Megan Pillar is the communications specialist for societal systems in Cornell Research & Innovation