George E. Kimball Medal

2024 - Winner(s)

2024 Winner(s)

Dr. Keskinocak

The 2024 INFORMS George E. Kimball Medal is awarded to Professor Pinar Keskinocak to recognize her long, tireless, and visionary contributions to the operations research and management science profession, and her distinguished service to society and the INFORMS community.

Her pioneering work and leadership in health and humanitarian systems were instrumental in developing a community that is dedicated to having a positive impact on society. Her research and outreach during COVID-19 helped inform decisions and policies, and increased the global awareness of the impact of our professional community. She has served INFORMS in numerous positions, including as president in 2020, at the height of a global pandemic. Other significant contributions include co-founding the Public Sector Operations Research Section and the Junior Faculty Interest Group, empowering two communities which continue to thrive. She led the INFORMS effort to establish a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) ambassadors program that provides a platform to members to lead or engage in a variety of DEI initiatives. She also provided leadership and strong support to Health Application Section and the Forum for Women in OR/MS. Her service and dedication are truly inspiring.

Dr. Shmoys

David Shmoys is the Laibe/Acheson Professor of Business Management and Leadership Studies, Professor of Operations Research and Information Engineering, and Professor of Computer Science at Cornell University. David is one of our profession’s intellectual leaders, a superstar among us. His research addresses the design of approximation algorithms, combinatorial optimization, location theory, sequencing and scheduling theory, and network design, with applications that touch numerous facets of society. David’s list of recognitions is without parallel. He received the INFORMS Lanchester Prize, Khachiyan Prize, Daniel Wagner Prize, and the Foundations of Computer Science (FOCS) Test of Time award. David is also an INFORMS Fellow, with his published works cited more than 26,600 times. David’s professional service to INFORMS over many years is exemplary. He has often selflessly worked behind the scenes, humbly serving INFORMS and its membership in numerous critical roles and capacities. These include serving as committee chair for INFORMS Fellows, Lanchester, von Neumann, Farkas, Nicholson, and Khachiyan prizes. He has also held several senior editorial positions for Operations Research, INFORMS Journal on Optimization, and Mathematics of Operations Research. With his contributions to operations research and his service to INFORMS, David has been a role model that every young INFORMS member can and should emulate. Indeed, his service to the profession is truly a blueprint for success. Given such a record of excellence, INFORMS expresses its sincere appreciation to David B. Shmoys by awarding him the 2024 George E. Kimball Medal.

Purpose of the Award

Committee Chair

Peter Bell
Western University (Ivey Business School)

email: [email protected]

Click here for committee information.

The George E. Kimball Medal is awarded for recognition of distinguished service to the Institute and to the profession of operations research and the management sciences. The award is a medallion and a certificate.

2024 Submission Deadline: May 15, 2024
Click here to begin a submission

 

Prior to the creation of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) by the merger of the Operations Research Society of America (ORSA) and The Institute of Management Sciences (TIMS), the Kimball Medal was an ORSA Prize. TIMS had a similar prize, the TIMS' Distinguished Service Medal. The winners of this prize are included in the list below.

Application Process

Nominations are provided within the INFORMS award submission software.  Nomination materials needed during the submission process include Nomination Letter (outlining the scope of service to INFORMS), Nominee’s CV, and draft citation of merit.  Self-nominations are welcome. 

Click here to learn more

About the Award/Namesake

George E. Kimball

Born in Chicago in 1906, Kimball received his bachelor's degree in quantum chemistry from Princeton University in 1928. He returned there to do his graduate work under Hugh Taylor, and pursue more chemistry, physics and mathematics. He received a National Research Fellowship in chemistry and spent from 1933-1935 at MIT. In 1942, Philip Morse organized a Navy group to analyze antisubmarine tactics, and Kimball was one of the first persons recruited. Within the year he became Deputy Director of the group, called the Operations Research Group (ORG) during the war, later called the Operations Evaluation Group, U.S.N...

Learn more about George E. Kimball


Past Awardees

2024 Winner(s)
Pinar Keskinocak, Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Industrial/Systems Engineering David B Shmoys, Cornell University
2023 Winner(s)
Steve Graves, MIT
Jonathan Owen, General Motors
Michael Fu, University of Maryland, College Park
2021 Winner(s)
Michael Gorman, University of Dayton
Cynthia Barnhart, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2020 Winner(s)
Sheldon H. Jacobson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Grace Lin, Asia University
2019 Winner(s)
Edward H. Kaplan, Yale University
Peter C. Bell, University of Western Ontario, Richard Ivey School of Business
2018 Awardee(s)
Bruce L. Golden, University of Maryland, Robert H. Smith School of Business
Candace Yano, University of California, Berkeley
2017 Awardee(s)
Frederick S. Hillier, Professor Emeritus of Operations Research, Stanford University
Russell Labe, RPL Analytics Consulting
2016 Awardee(s)
Robin Lougee, IBM
Jeffrey D. Camm, Wake Forest University
2015 Awardee(s)
Jack Levis, UPS
Anne G Robinson, Verizon Wireless
2014 Awardee(s)
Terry P. Harrison, CAP, Penn State University
2013 Awardee(s)
Eric Wolman, George Mason University
Rina Schneur , Verizon Laboratories
Teresa V. Cryan, INFORMS
2012 Awardee(s)
Don N. Kleinmuntz, Strata Decision Technology, LLC
Susan Albin, Rutgers University
2011 Awardee(s)
Stephen M. Robinson, University of Wisconsin-Madison Brenda Dietrich, Cornell University
2010 Awardee(s)
Lawrence M. Wein, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business
James C. Bean, University of Oregon
2009 Awardee(s)
Mark S. Daskin, Northwestern University, Dept. of Industrial Engineering and Management Science Michael A. Trick, Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper School of Business
2008 Awardee(s)
John R. Birge, University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business
Kathryn E. Stecke, University of Texas - Dallas, School of Management
2007 Awardee(s)
Thomas M. Cook
Marshall L. Fisher, University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School Operations & Information Management Dept.
2006 Awardee(s)
L. Robin Keller, University of California - Irvine, Paul Merage School of Business
2005 Awardee(s)
Karla L. Hoffman, George Mason University, System Engineering & Operations Research Dept.
2004 Awardee(s)
Frank T. Trippi
2003 Awardee(s)
Paul Gray
2002 Awardee(s)
Craig W. Kirkwood, Dept. of Supply Chain Management, Arizona State University
Richard C. Larson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Gary L. Lilien, Distinguished Research Professor of Management Science, Penn State
Distinguished Professor of Marketing, University of Technology, Sydney
2001 Awardee(s)
H. Newton Garber
Stephen M. Pollock, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Dept. of Industrial and Operations Engineering
2000 Awardee(s)
Arthur M. Geoffrion, UCLA, Anderson School of Management
1999 Awardee(s)
Carl M. Harris
1998 Awardee(s)
John J. Jarvis
1997 Awardee(s)
Michael H. Rothkopf
1996 Awardee(s)
Donald Gross
Gerald J. Lieberman, G. Lieberman Consulting LLC
1995 Awardee(s)
Peter V. Norden
1994 Awardee(s)
Michael E. Thomas
Thomas L. Magnanti, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
David A. Schrady, Naval Postgraduate School, Dept. of Operations Research
Mary R. DeMelim, Director, MRD Associates
1993 Awardee(s)
Seth Bonder, The Bonder Group
1992 Awardee(s)
W. Edward Cushen
1991 Awardee(s)
Saul I. Gass, University of Maryland, Robert H. Smith School of Business
1990 Awardee(s)
Hugh E. Bradley
1989 Awardee(s)
William P. Pierskalla
1988 Awardee(s)
George L. Nemhauser, Georgia Institute of Technology, Dept. of Industrial & Systems Engineering
1987 Awardee(s)
John D.C. Little, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1986 Awardee(s)
Arthur A. Brown
1985 Awardee(s)
Robert M. Thrall
Alfred Blumstein, Carnegie Mellon University, Heinz College
1984 Awardee(s)
Charles D. Flagle
1983 Awardee(s)
Merrill M. Flood
Martin K. Starr, Rollins College
1982 Awardee(s)
Jack R. Borsting, University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business
1981 Awardee(s)
David B. Hertz
1980 Awardee(s)
Bernard O. Koopman
1979 Awardee(s)
Charles J. Hitch
1978 Awardee(s)
John F. Magee, Arthur D. Little Incorporated
1976 Awardee(s)
Robert Herman, University of Texas-Austin
1975 Awardee(s)
Russell L. Ackoff
1974 Awardee(s)
Thomas E. Caywood