2019 Edelman Gala Winners

Franz Edelman Award for Achievement in Advanced Analytics, Operations Research, and Management Science

The 2019 Franz Edelman Award for Achievement in Advanced Analytics, Operations Research, and Management Science was awarded this evening to Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District and Tetra Tech for their project “Protecting Community Waterways: Applying Analytics, Optimization and Real Time Control for the Efficient Operation of Sewer Networks,” which used operations research to maximize all aspects of its wastewater collection and treatment facilities to better protect the environment and realize hundreds of millions in savings.

Representing the winning team from Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District and Tetra Tech were Angela Akridge and Wolffie Miller with the Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District, and Diana Qing Tao, Martin Pleau, Francois Grondin and Leslie Shoemaker with Tetra Tech. The award was presented by INFORMS President and Dean of Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College Ramayya Krishnan, and was accepted by Angela Akridge.

In addition to Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District and Tetra Tech, the five other finalists for this year’s Franz Edelman competition were recognized, including:

• Boston Public Schools for “Optimized School Bus Routing Helps School Districts Design Better Policies” which used operations research to create a new approach to school bus routing that has reduced the bus fleet and enabled millions of dollars to be reinvested in the school system.
• IBM for “Analytics and O.R. for IBM’s IT Service Deals” which used operations research and analytics to manage the highly complex process of competing for and negotiating information technology service contracts around the world.
• Microsoft for “Prospective Dynamic Fraud Control for Optimal Profitability in E-commerce” which used operations research to create a fraud detection system that identifies and reduces online fraudulent activity, while protecting legitimate purchases and saving the company tens of millions of dollars.
• Spanish Aviation Safety and Security Agency (AESA) for “RIMAS–Safer Skies in Spain,” which leveraged analytics to go beyond international aviation safety standards and maximize safety improvements to reduce consequences such as fatalities, injuries, induced cancellations and destroyed aircraft, to realize nearly $230 million in savings.
• Vattenfall for “Operational Research Optimizes Offshore Wind Farm Design and Enables a Fossil-Free Future” for its use of operations research to expand its offshore wind energy operations in the pursuit of fossil fuel-free living, while realizing more than $170 million in savings.

INFORMS would also like to recognize and thank the 2019 Franz Edelman Competition team coaches and judging panel for their hard work and dedication to the competition.

This year’s coaches are listed below, in conjunction with the finalist team they worked with:

• Boston Public Schools: Harrison Schramm, CAP, CSBA and Sudharshana Apte, Altria Client Services
• IBM: Irvin Lustig, CAP, Princeton Consultants and Walt DeGrange, CAP, CANA Advisors
• Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District and Tetra Tech: Carrie Beam, University of Arkansas and Ann Bixby, Aspen Technology
• Microsoft: Jeffrey M. Alden, General Motors and Sudip Bhattacharjee, University of Connecticut
• AESA: Layek Abdel-Malek, New Jersey Institute of Technology and Sven Müller, European University Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder)
• Vattenfall: John R. Birge, University of Chicago and Rajesh Tyagi, GE Global Research Center

The 2019 Franz Edelman judges are:

• Chair: Pooja Dewan, Otis Elevators
• Antonio Carbajal, CAP, iHeartMedia
• Manoj Chari, SAS Institute
• Michael F. Gorman, University of Dayton
• Arnold Greenland, CAP, University of Maryland
• Patricia Neri, SAS Institute
• Pelin Pekgun, University of South Carolina
• Julie Swann, North Carolina State University
• Michael Trick, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar

INFORMS Prize

Booz Allen Hamilton was awarded the 2019 INFORMS Prize for novel integration of operations research, advanced analytics, and data science into internal operations and professional services delivery. The award recognizes the extraordinary commitment, innovation, and excellence of Booz Allen’s 4,000-member team of analytic professionals that has increased six-fold over the last decade to about 4,000 full-time equivalents, while delivering over 500 operations research projects to a diverse set of clients. 

The award, which was presented by Mark Gallagher, CAP, of the Air Force Institute of Technology and Chair of the INFORMS Prize Committee, was accepted by INFORMS member and Roundtable Representative Steve Escaravage, Senior Vice President with Booz Allen.

INFORMS would like to thank the 2019 INFORMS Prize committee for all their hard work and dedication in judging this year’s competition:

• Chair: Mark Gallagher, CAP, Air Force Institute of Technology
• Tarun Mohan Lal, Mayo Clinic (Past Chair)
• Sanjay Saigal, University of California, Davis (2020 Chair)
• Margery Connor, CAP, Chevron
• Dayana Cope, Disney
• Pooja Dewan, Otis Elevators

UPS George D. Smith Prize

The 2019 UPS George D. Smith Prize was presented to University of Cincinnati Operations, Business Analytics and Information Systems Department in recognition of the university’s innovative curriculum, taught in the context of a true business environment that prepares students to become effective practitioners. 

The award was presented by Jack Levis, Director of Process Management at UPS, who was joined at the Edelman Gala by Jim Collins, Vice President Industrial Engineering at UPS. Accepting the award on behalf of the University of Cincinnati was Michael Fry, Professor and Academic Director of the Center for Business Analytics.

In addition to the University of Cincinnati, the 2019 Smith Prize finalists also included:

• University of Maryland Department of Decision, Operations & Information Technologies 
• University of South Carolina Operations and Supply Chain Program - Management Science Department

INFORMS would like to thank the 2019 UPS George D. Smith Prize judging committee, including:

• Chair: Rina Schneur, former INFORMS president
• Hai D. Chu, Disney
• Rob Dell, Naval Postgraduate School
• Pooja Dewan, Otis Elevators
• Harish Krishnan, University of British Columbia
• Andy Wasser, Carnegie Mellon University
• Haining Yu, Amazon

Daniel H. Wagner Prize for Excellence in Operations Research Practice

The winner of the 2018 Wagner Prize, which was awarded last year during the 2018 INFORMS Annual Meeting in Phoenix, AZ, was also recognized during the Edelman Gala. The winning team from Cornell University was presented with the Wagner Prize for their work, “Analytics and Bikes: Riding Tandem with Motivate to Improve Mobility,” which was conducted by Daniel Freund of Lyft; Shane G. Henderson and David B. Shmoys of Cornell University; and Eoin O'Mahony of Uber Technologies Inc. 

Presenting the award was Patricia Neri, chair of the 2018 Daniel Wagner Prize, Principal Analytical Consultant at SAS Institute, and was accepted by David Shmoys. 

INFORMS would also like to recognize and thank the Wagner Prize Committee members for their hard work and dedication in judging the 2018 competition. The committee members include:

• Chair: Patricia Neri, SAS Institute
• William J. Browning, Applied Mathematics, Inc.
• Allen Butler, Daniel H. Wagner Associates
• Arnold Greenland, CAP, University of Maryland
• Mary Helander, IBM, Retired
• Mustafa Kabul, Augmentir
• Pelin Pekgun, University of South Carolina
• Lawrence D. Stone, Metron, Inc.
• Aurelie Thiele, Southern Methodist University