The big news for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in March was the failure of the alternative healthcare bill on the House floor. For the first time since the election campaign season began, we heard real conversations between politicians and their constituents about healthcare. The uproar about healthcare in recent times made us confront the age-old question in the United States: Is healthcare a right or an entitlement?
Using machine learning and optimization to improve refugee integration
Andrew C. Trapp, a professor at the Foisie Business School at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), received a $320,000 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to develop a computational tool to help humanitarian aid organizations significantly improve refugees’ chances of successfully resettling and integrating into a new country. Built upon ongoing work with an international team of computer scientists and economists, the tool integrates machine learning and optimization algorithms, along with complex computation of data, to match refugees to communities where they will find appropriate resources, including employment opportunities. Read more →