Wilpen L. Gorr

Professor of Public Policy and Information Systems, Emeritus

Wil Gorr joined the Heinz College faculty in 1985. For ten years, until becoming emeritus, he served as the faculty chair of the Master of Science in Public Policy and Management (MSPPM) program and was chair of the Faculty Oversight Committee for the MSPPM program in Washington, D.C.

Prior to joining the Heinz College faculty as professor, he was associate professor at the John Glenn School of Public Affairs, The Ohio State University. He obtained his Ph.D. from the School of Urban and Public Affairs, the Heinz College's predecessor, and obtained his master and bachelor degrees from The Pennsylvania State University. He is a member of the Association of Public Policy and Management and the International Institute of Forecasters.

In 2011, Wil won the Martcia Wade Teaching Award in the Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon University for the second time. In 2005, Wil was inducted as a Fellow of the International Institute of Forecasters. He is past editor of the International Journal of Forecasting. He was recipient of the Best Paper Award from the American Information Systems Society in 2001.

Wil's research interests include geographic information systems, predictive models, and management science models applied to public sector problems. His current research includes developing leading indicator forecast models for law enforcement, application of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) framework to time series analysis and forecasting, and information systems for support of policy and planning in organizations. His publications have appeared in Management Science, Geographical Analysis, The International Journal of Forecasting, Criminology, Journal of Quantitative Criminology, MIS Quarterly, and other leading journals. He has received funding from the National Institute of Justice, Centers for Disease Control, the National Science Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and other organizations.

Wil taught database, geographic information systems, and project courses. He and his colleague, Kristen Kurland, have written as series of geographic information systems textbooks for ESRI Press.

Publications

Publications

Gorr, W.L. and Schneider, M., "ROC-Based Model Estimation for Forecasting Large Changes in Demand", International Journal of Forecasting, to appear 2014.
Gorr, W.L. and Lee, Y., “Early Warning System for Temporary Crime Hotspots, Journal of Quantitative Criminology, to appear 2014.
Gorr, W.L. and M.J. Schneider "Large-Change Forecast Accuracy: Reanalysis of M3-Competition data using receiver operating characteristics analysis," International Journal of Forecasting, 2013, Vol. 29, Issue 2, pp. 274-281.
Gorr, W.L., "Forecast Accuracy Measures for Exception Reporting Using Receiver Operating Characteristic Curves," /International Journal of Forecasting/, 2009, Vol. 25, Issue 1, pp. 48-61.
Cohen, J., S. Garman, and W. L. Gorr, "Empirical Calibration of Time Series Monitoring Methods Using Receiver Operating Characteristic Curves," /International Journal of Forecasting/, 2009, Vol. 25, Issue 3, pp. 484-497.
Cohen, J., W. L. Gorr, and A. Olligschlaeger, "Leading Indicators and Spatial Interactions: A Crime Forecasting Model for Proactive Police Deployment" Geographical Analysis, January 2007, Vol. 39, Issue1, pp. 105-127.
Gorr, W.L. and S.A. McKay, "Application of Tracking Signals to Detect Time Series Pattern Changes in Crime Mapping Systems," in F. Wang [ed.] Crime Mapping and Beyond: GIS Applications in Crime Studies, Hershey, PA: Idea Group Publishing, 2005.
Johnson, M., W.L. Gorr, and S. Roehrig, "Location of Elderly Service Facilities," Annals of Operations Research, Vol. 136 (1), January 2005.
Cohen, J., W.L. Gorr, and P. Singh, "Estimating Intervention Effects in Varying Risk Settings: Do Police Raids Reduce Illegal Drug Dealing at Nuisance Bars?," Criminology, Vol. 41 (2), May 2003, pp. 257-292.
Johnson, M., W.L. Gorr, and S. Roehrig, "Location/Allocation/Routing for Home-Delivered Meals Provision: Model and Solution Approaches," International Journal of Industrial Engineering, Special Issue on Facility Layout and Location, Vol. 9 No. 1 (2002), pp. 45 - 56.
Anderson, B.B., A. Bajaj, and W.L. Gorr, "An Estimation of the Relative Effects of External Software Quality Factors on Senior IS Managers' Evaluation of Computing Architectures," Journal of Systems & Software, Vol. 61 (2002), pp. 59-75.
Gorr, W.L., A. Olligschlaeger, and Y. Thompson, "Short-term Forecasting of Crime", International Journal of Forecasting, Vol. 19, No. 4 (2003).
Gorr, W.L., M. Johnson, and S. Roehrig, "Spatial Decision Support System for Home-Delivered Services," Geographical Analysis, Vol. 3(2001), pp. 181-197.
Duncan, G., W.L. Gorr, and J. Szczypula, "Forecasting Analogous Time Series," S. Armstrong [ed.], Forecasting Principles (2001) Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Getis, A., P. Drummey, J. Gartin, W.L. Gorr, K. Harris, P. Rogerson, D.Stoe, and R. Wright, "Geographic Information Science and Crime Analysis," Journal of the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association, Vol. 12, No.2 (2000), pp 7-14.

Additional Information

Education