Mary McDonald

Mary McDonald is a Lecturer and Faculty Associate for Research at the SEED Center for Data Farming at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), where she has served since 2008. Her academic background includes a B.A. in Mathematics from Northwestern University (1991) and an M.S. in Applied Mathematics (Operations Analysis Track) from NPS (1997). She holds a distinguished military career, including roles as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and various operational research positions in civilian and military organizations.

Her research focuses on military operations analysis, agent-based modeling, and data farming. She has contributed to advancements in computational methods for military decision-making and has led initiatives in systems analysis and simulation.

McDonald has received numerous awards, including the 2024 Navy Civilian Service Commendation Medal and the 2021 MORS John K. Walker Award. She has served in leadership roles across professional organizations, such as Co-Chair of Working Group 31 (Computing Advances in Military Operations Research) and Program Co-Chair for the INFORMS Military Applications Conference.

Her service spans roles in education, policy, and interdisciplinary collaboration, including contributions to the Virginia 4-H program and editorial work for Systems Engineering. She is affiliated with the Military Operations Research Society (MORS) and INFORMS.