Bill Conley honored by the Cofrin School of Business
On Friday, the Cofrin School of Business honored Bill Conley as the very first recipient of the newly minted “Legacy of Excellence” award. Conley was selected to receive this distinguished honor and was presented the award during the CSB end-of-year gathering. Faculty, staff and students celebrated the end of the academic year, the retiring faculty and staff, and the newest distinguished emeritus faculty member, Bill Conley.
This award honors outstanding contributions since retirement in any of the academic missions (e.g., research and creative work, teaching, or university/community service) performed by a UW-Green Bay Austin E. Cofrin School of Business Faculty or Staff member with emeritus status. The award will be presented at the CSB Spring Picnic. This is not intended to be an annual award but instead will be given when a retired faculty or staff member is truly outstanding in the line of academic missions.
A Legacy of Optimization: William Conley, Professor Emeritus
William (Bill) Conley, PhD, Professor Emeritus, in the Cofrin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin (UW)-Green Bay, is a pioneer in statistical optimization who continues to address real world problems through his prolific level of scholarship.
Hired at UW-Green Bay in 1977 and trained as a mathematician, Dr. Conley recognized early the importance (and future) of applied mathematics at a time in which computer use and new technologies were ready to explode. His breakthrough technique was Multistage Monte Carlo Optimization (MSMCO), a computerized optimization approach to solving problems at lightning speed with many variables. Dr. Conley’s new technique was described in his book, Computer Optimization Techniques, first published in 1980. The book, revised in 1984, has been referred to as a “definitive book in its field”.
Dr. Conley published five books on computer languages and optimization and 240 other scholarly works (e.g., articles). Forty-five of his publications were written since retirement in 2009 from UW-Green Bay. His myriad of books, articles and presentations showcase how his powerful optimization technique can create efficiencies across a host of industry sectors including in aerospace, manufacturing, business, engineering, science, and health care.
Many articles over the past decade address aerospace and asteroid defense with solutions for how rockets can change the trajectory of asteroids, such as his article “Managing and Mitigating the Asteroid Threat”. Dr. Conley continues to publish in this area with a current article under journal review.
Dr. Conley’s articles demonstrate applications for saving millions of dollars in the manufacturing sector using his optimization technique for input output analysis in factories. Saving dollars in transportation costs is shown in his lead article, “Controlling Costs by Finding the Shortest Route: A Multistage Monte Carlo Optimization Approach”, in the journal Cost Engineering. His articles address optimization solutions in banking, shipping, packaging, marketing, pollution control and many more areas.
His publications appear in a wide range of international journals across the US, Europe, and Asia including in the International Journal of Systems Science, International Journal of Electronics, Journal of Japan Society for Simulation Technology, Journal of Mathematical Modeling and Scientific Computing, and International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology.
Dr. Conley has presented at conferences around the world. Recently, he presented at the Industrial Simulation Conference in Dublin Ireland with a paper, “Statistical Optimization with an Outer Loop of Six”, describing a process (Outer Loop) to improve the final answer or potentially true optimal. Another presentation in the United Kingdom and published paper, “Big Data Reduction”, was acclaimed with a best paper award.
Now in his fifth decade of scholarly productivity, Dr. Conley enjoys writing and publishing, communicating with international colleagues in mathematics and various industries, and reflecting on his students who have gone on to use his optimization technique and/or statistical knowledge from his courses to solve relevant problems. Dr. Conley is well regarded by his students for the learning and good humor they received. Students have enjoyed his courses and refer to him as having a positive impact on their lives and “the smartest person I know”. Now retired, Dr. Conley works occasionally on the UW-Green Bay campus and at his home.
