The Franz Edelman Award for Achievement in Operations Research and the Management Sciences recognizes excellence in the execution of operations research on the organizational level.
The award is presented annually by the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS).
The international competition pits 5 to 7 teams from industry, government, healthcare, and the non-profit sectors. The competition takes place at the INFORMS spring practice conference and concludes with the announcement of the winner at a gala dinner at the conference. It began in 1971 as the TIMS Prize and was named for Franz Edelman, the operations research director of RCA, shortly after his death in 1982. It carries a cash award of $10,000. Since its inception, nearly $160 billion in benefits have been tabulated among Franz Edelman Award finalist teams. Following the competition, INFORMS publishes papers by the Edelman finalists in the January issue of the INFORMS journal Interfaces.
2016: United Parcel Service (UPS): UPS On Road Integrated Optimization and Navigation (Orion) Project2015: Syngenta: Advanced Analytics for Agricultural Product Development2014: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Polio Eradicators Use Integrated Analytical Models to Make Better Decisions2013: Delta Commissioner of the Netherlands: Economically Efficient Flood Standards to Protect the Netherlands against Flooding2012: TNT Express: Supply Chain-Wide Optimization at TNT Express2011: MISO: Operations Research Ramps Up the Power Market in the Midwest2010: INDEVAL: application of operations research and analytics to speedily processing complex securities transactions2009: Hewlett-Packard: HP Transforms Product Portfolio Management with Operations Research2008: Netherlands Railways: The New Dutch Timetable—the OR Revolution2007: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center: Operations Research Answers to Cancer Therapeutics2006: Warner Robins Air Logistics Center: Streamlining Aircraft Repair and Overhaul at Warner Robins Air Logistics Center2005: General Motors: General Motors Increases Its Production Throughput2004: Motorola Inc: Reinventing the Supplier Negotiation Process at Motorola2003: Canadian Pacific Railway (First-Place Winner): Perfecting the Scheduled Railroad- Model-Driven Operating Plan Development2002: Continental Airlines: A New Era for Crew Recovery at Continental Airlines2001: Merrill Lynch, Inc: Pricing Analysis for Merrill Lynch Integrated Choice2000: Jeppesen Sanderson, Inc.: Flexible Planning and Technology Management at Jeppesen Sanderson, Inc.Dutch institutions won the Edelman Award three times in the period 2008-2013. Researchers of Tilburg University were involved in the winning teams of 2012 and 2013.
