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Katharina Best

Lecturer, Carnegie Mellon Institute for Strategy & Technology

Bio

Katharina Best is a lecturer in the Carnegie Mellon Institute for Strategy & Technology (CMIST) and a senior operations at RAND, where she helps manage the Arroyo Center—the Army’s Federally Funded Research and Development Center. Her research interests focus on applications of operations research and mathematical modeling for strategic decision support and effective resource allocation in defense and policy. Her work aims to build more quantitative connections between strategic and operational decisionmaking and planning. Dr. Best’s past work includes applications in military force planning and management, manpower and workforce issues, modernization, and acquisition, and examines uncertainties stemming from the global security environment, budget uncertainty, and climate. Her contributions have been featured in Bloomberg Law News, NBCnews.com, Signal Magazine, Army Times, War on the Rocks, and in the Department of Defense Sustainability Plan. Prior to coming to RAND, Best studied the dynamics of the college education and lending market in the United States and worked as a corporate risk consultant at Oliver Wyman Financial Services. Best received her Ph.D. and M.S. in industrial engineering from the University of Michigan and her B.S. in systems engineering from the University of Virginia.

Select Publications

Best, K.; Greenfield, V.; et al.; “Beyond Cost-per-Unit: Economic Analysis and Metrics in Defense Decisionmaking”; RAND, 2024.

Warren, D.; McCollester, M.; Best, K.; et al.; “Organizing for Army Financial Audit Success”; RAND, 2024.

Watts, S.; Rhoades, A.; Linick, M.; Best, K.; et al.; “Rethinking Readiness: A Framework for a Strategic Readiness Assessment”; RAND, 2024.

Best, K.; Stephenson, S.; et al.; “Climate and Readiness: Understanding Climate Vulnerability of U.S. Joint Force Readiness”; RAND, 2023.

Best, K.; Eckhause, J.; et al.; “Optimizing Portfolio-Level Modernization Investment: An Overview of the Aim Point Investment Model (APIM)”; RAND, 2023.

Eckhause, J.; Best, K.; et al.; “Evaluating Department of Homeland Security Component Colocation for Field Efficiency and Performance: Framework and Methods”; RAND, 2023.

Best, K.; Lewis, J.; et al.; “Forecasting End Strength in the U.S. Army Reserve”; RAND, 2022..

Best, K.; Mikolic-Torreira, I.; Chonde, S.; “Developing an Analytical Method for Assessing Readiness, Risks, and Opportunity”; Military Operations Research; Vol. 25, No. 4, 2020.

Best, K.; Schmid, J.; et al.; “How to Analyze the Cyber Threat from Drones: Background, Analysis Frameworks, and Analysis Tools”; RAND, 2020.

Best, K.; Invited Speaker: Opening Keynote, Women in Data Science Pittsburgh; “Doing Policy Research with Data Science”; ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉúTV, 2019.

Mikolic-Torreira, I.; Barnett, S.; Best, K.; et al.; “Army Fires Capabilities for 2025 and Beyond”; RAND, 2019.

Best, K.; Mikolic-Torreira, I.; et al.; “Assessing Force Sufficiency and Risk Using RAND’s Multi-Period Assessment of Force Flow (MPAFF) Tool”; RAND, 2019.

Linick, M.; Mikolic-Torreira, I.; Best, K.; et al.; “A Throughput-Based Analysis of Army Active Component/Reserve Component Mix for Major Contingency Surge Operations”; RAND, 2019.

Pernin, C.; Best, K.; et al.; “Enabling the Global Response Force: Access Strategies for the 82nd Airborne Division”; RAND, 2016.

Best, K.; “Three Studies on the Value and Risk of Higher Education”; Dissertation, U. of Michigan, 2013.

Best, K.; Keppo, J.; “The Credits that Count: How Credit Growth and Financial Aid Inflate College Tuition and Fees”; Education Economics, 2012, 1-25.

CMIST Course Offerings

• 84-703 Employing Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Policy Analysis