Case Study: Graduate thesis lands election job
How many polling machines does your voting district need? Where should they go to minimize long lines and unhappy voters?
Austin Armstrong asked himself this question as a part of his Master of Science in applied statistics degree with a business analytics specialization. The thesis Armstrong wrote for his degree landed him a full-time job within the Office of the Ohio Secretary of State’s Elections Division.
His thesis work analyzed the allocation of equipment to polling locations. The research utilized simulation and machine learning algorithms to allocate electronic poll books to minimize wait times. In preparing his thesis, Austin spent countless hours researching the voting process, including making phone inquiries to the Secretary of State’s Office and various county Board of Elections.
In January 2020, Austin began working as an elections data administrator on a part-time basis and transitioned into the position full time after graduation. Some of his main duties and responsibilities have involved identifying opportunities for process improvement, recommending system modifications and developing data governance policies pertaining to elections. In addition, Austin utilizes statistical tools to interpret data sets, analyzing results and identifying trends and patterns for analytics efforts.
“I believe my intensive coursework here at Bowling Green, prior work experience and my unique set of knowledge gained through my thesis research made me a strong candidate for this position,” Armstrong said.
Consulting Services with the Center for Business Analytics
The Schmidthorst College of Business Center for Business Analytics provides analytics consulting services to companies. Led by faculty but with regular student involvement, it helps companies develop ideas, methodologies, innovations, solutions and practical implementations to produce tangible results through analytics. The center also provides frequent real-life cases for students to tackle.
The center has worked with companies from a variety of sectors, such as manufacturing and healthcare. Recent collaborations for product quality and process improvement projects include: Owens Corning, General Motors, Marathon Petroleum Co., Owen Illinois, First Solar, St. Vincent Hospital and The Hospice of Northwest Ohio.
The Center for Business Analytics has also worked with Equipment Data Associates to develop trend analysis and forecasting models for heavy equipment purchases and rentals throughout the country. The center’s highly-qualified faculty and students stand ready to help companies with short- and long-term analytics projects to improve business processes and decision making.
