INFORMS

INFORMS
Name	Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences
Founded	0 1995
Predecessor	Operations Research Society of America, The Institute of Management Sciences
Headquarters	Catonsville, Maryland, United States
Website	https://www.informs.org/

INFORMS. The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences is a prominent international professional society dedicated to advancing the fields of operations research, management science, and analytics. It serves a diverse membership of practitioners, researchers, educators, and students, promoting the application of scientific methods to improve decision-making and management in organizations. The society was formed in 1995 through the merger of two leading organizations, the Operations Research Society of America and The Institute of Management Sciences.

History

The origins trace back to the post-World War II era when the discipline of operations research, having proven its value in military applications like anti-submarine warfare and logistics, began expanding into civilian industry and government. The Operations Research Society of America was founded in 1952, with early pioneers such as Philip M. Morse and George B. Dantzig playing key roles. Concurrently, The Institute of Management Sciences, established in 1953, focused more on the application of quantitative methods to business and organizational problems, attracting figures like C. West Churchman and Russell L. Ackoff. For decades, these two societies operated in parallel, publishing influential journals like Operations Research and Management Science, and holding major conferences such as the ORSA National Meeting. The merger in 1995, championed by leaders including Alfred Blumstein and John D. C. Little, unified the community to better address the evolving interdisciplinary nature of the field, which increasingly incorporated computer science, artificial intelligence, and data science.

Organization and governance

The society is governed by an elected Board of Directors and led by a President, with recent presidents including experts like Laura Albert and Radhika Kulkarni. Key operational committees oversee areas such as publications, meetings, and education. It maintains a professional staff headquartered in Catonsville, Maryland, to manage day-to-day activities, membership services, and outreach. The organizational structure also includes various forums and subdivisions, such as the INFORMS Roundtable for senior practitioners and chapters for specific geographic regions like the INFORMS Chapter in Israel. Governance is designed to represent the interests of its academic members from institutions like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University, as well as practitioners from corporations like IBM and Amazon.com.

Publications

It publishes a suite of highly regarded scholarly journals that are central to the field's literature. Flagship titles include Operations Research and Management Science, which feature foundational research on optimization, stochastic models, and organizational theory. Other major journals are Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, Marketing Science, and Transportation Science, each focusing on specific application domains. The society also publishes more practice-oriented magazines such as Analytics Magazine and OR/MS Today, which bridge the gap between research and application. These publications often feature work by renowned researchers like John Birge, Dimitris Bertsimas, and Nicolas Stier Moses, and are abstracted in major databases including Scopus and the Social Sciences Citation Index.

Conferences and meetings

It organizes several major annual conferences that are pivotal events for the global community. The largest is the INFORMS Annual Meeting, which attracts thousands of attendees for presentations, workshops, and networking, often held in cities like San Francisco or Washington, D.C.. The INFORMS Conference on Business Analytics & Operations Research focuses specifically on data-driven applications and case studies from industry. Specialized conferences include the INFORMS Revenue Management and Pricing Conference and the INFORMS Applied Probability Society Conference. These gatherings frequently feature keynote addresses by leaders from organizations such as the United States Department of Defense, Netflix, and American Airlines, and provide venues for presenting research later published in journals like Interfaces.

Special interest groups and communities

The society fosters numerous specialized communities through its Sections, Societies, and Chapters. These groups cater to niche interests within the broader field, such as the INFORMS Optimization Society, the INFORMS Computing Society, and the INFORMS Section on Energy, Natural Resources, and the Environment. Practice-oriented groups include the INFORMS Section on Public Programs, Processes, and Systems and the INFORMS Section on Health Applications. There are also groups dedicated to specific methodologies, like the INFORMS Society for Marketing Science and the INFORMS Transportation Science and Logistics Society. These communities often organize their own symposia, sponsor awards, and contribute to journals such as Decision Analysis and Service Science.

Awards and recognition

It administers a comprehensive system of awards to honor excellence in research, practice, and education. The highest honors include the John von Neumann Theory Prize for fundamental contributions to theory, the George E. Kimball Medal for service to the society, and the Frederick W. Lanchester Prize for the best contribution to operations research. Practice-oriented awards include the Daniel H. Wagner Prize for excellence in practice and the Franz Edelman Award, often called the "Super Bowl" of analytics, which celebrates outstanding implemented work. Other significant awards are the Saul Gass Expository Writing Prize, the INFORMS President's Award, and fellowships recognizing individuals like Warren B. Powell and Cynthia Barnhart for their lifetime achievements.

Category:Operations research Category:Scientific organizations Category:Professional associations based in the United States