Introduction: 2019 Daniel H. Wagner Prize for Excellence in the Practice of Advanced Analytics and Operations Research

Competition for the 2019 Daniel H. Wagner Prize for Excellence in the Practice of Advanced Analytics and Operations Research provided the five finalist papers featured in this special issue of the INFORMS Journal on Applied Analytics (IJAA). The prestigious Wagner Prize—awarded for achievement in implemented operations research, management science, and advanced analytics—emphasizes quality and originality of mathematical models and clarity of written and oral exposition. This year’s winning application is a ride-dispatching solution that the Chinese ride service DiDi developed to match ride requests to available drivers. The model uses a Markov decision process along with machine learning to optimize the assignments, resulting in improved response rates, fulfillment rates, and driver income. The remaining papers include an optimization model that generates daily tutoring schedules for students and teachers at Hopeful Journeys, a school for children with disabilities; integer programming models to develop bus-route assignments for the Denver Public Schools; a novel pricing methodology, in the context of limited historical data, for reusable spare parts; and a machine learning approach to improve airline passenger flows through London’s Heathrow airport.