Photo by Jason Koski, graphic design by Rob Kurcoba/Cornell University Administrators knew Cornell could host in-person classes only if students could sit at least 6 feet apart; they turned to the School of Operations Research and Information Engineering to optimize the university’s classrooms. Model makers: How engineers saved the fall, spring semesters January 28, 2021 As the spring semester begins, a team of engineering students and faculty has finished tweaking the master schedule, using lessons they learned last fall during their heroic effort to help Cornell have safe, in-person classes. University leaders faced a critical question in April 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic surged and they contemplated an in-person fall semester: Would it even be possible?