Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences
Encyclopedia
The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) is an international society for practitioners in the fields of operations research
Operations research
Operations research is an interdisciplinary mathematical science that focuses on the effective use of technology by organizations...
(OR) and management science. It was established in 1995 with the merger of the Operations Research Society of America (ORSA) and The Institute of Management Sciences (TIMS).
Overview
According to INFORMS constitution, the Institute's purpose is to improve operational processes, decision-making, and management by individuals and organizations through operations research, the management sciences, and related scientific methods. The constitution provides that the mission of INFORMS is to lead in the development, dissemination and implementation of knowledge, basic and applied research and technologies in operations research, the management sciences, and related methods of improving operational processes, decision-making, and management. To those ends INFORMS declared that it would strive to: a. support efforts to extend, unify and integrate related branches of knowledge and practice;b. support the free interchange of information relevant to the purposes of the Institute; c. promote greater use of this knowledge by all organizations and the general public; d. encourage the education of students and the continuing education of practitioners in these fields of knowledge; e. promote high professional standards and integrity in all work done in the field.
Legal Status
INFORMS is organized, and must operate, exclusively for scientific or educational purposes as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. The Institute serves the scientific and professional needs of operations research
Operations research
Operations research is an interdisciplinary mathematical science that focuses on the effective use of technology by organizations...
educators, investigators, scientists, students, managers, and consultants, as well as the organizations they serve.
Activities
INFORMS publishes 12 scholarly journals about operations research, including the first and second journals in their class, according to Journal Citation Reports
Journal Citation Reports
Journal Citation Reports is an annual publication by the Healthcare & Science division of Thomson Reuters. It has been integrated with the Web of Knowledge, by Thomson Reuters, and is accessed from the Web of Science to JCR Web. It provides information about academic journals in the sciences and...
(2005).
The Institute organizes national and international conferences for academics, professionals, and members of the society's special interest groups. It also serves as a focal point for OR professionals by facilitating communication among members of the society, with members of other professional societies, and with their clients.
INFORMS is a member of the International Federation of Operational Research Societies and the host of the open-source initiative for operations research, COIN-OR
COIN-OR
COIN-OR, which stands for Computational Infrastructure for Operations Research, is a project that aims to "create for mathematical software what the open literature is for mathematical theory." The open literature provides the OR community with a peer-review process and an archive...
.
Operations research applies advanced analytical methods to help make better decisions.
Trivia
Before ORSA and TIMS merged, there was a contest to coin a name for the new organization. Robert Saltzman and Richard Bradford came up with the acronym.http://www.lionhrtpub.com/orms/orms-2-99/something.html
Governance
INFORMS is governed by a board of directors which includes a president, past president, president-elect, secretary, treasurer, executive director, and vice presidents for chapters and fora, education, information technology, international activities, meetings, membership and professional recognition, practice, publications, sections and societies, and marketing and outreach.Membership
INFORMS members are operations researchers who work for universities, corporations, consulting groups, military, the government, and health care. Many operations researchers are academics who teach operations research, management science, and the quantitative sciences in engineering and business schools. INFORMS members live in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and throughout the world. INFORMS includes masters- and Ph.D.-level members, as well as students working toward their degrees: Membership levels are regular member, student member, and retired member.The INFORMS Roundtable includes institutional members from operations research departments at major organizations.
Members of INFORMS specialize in operations research sub-fields such as applied probability, artificial intelligence, decision analysis, financial engineering, information systems, linear programming, logistics, non-linear programming, optimization, simulation, stochastic programming, and yield management.
Publications
INFORMS publishes scholarly journals, books, and magazines, including:- the flagship journals Operations Research: A Journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management SciencesOperations Research: A Journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management SciencesOperations Research was founded after World War II by the Operations Research Society of America , which became part of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Science . The refereed journal includes studies related to linear programming, optimization, revenue management, and the...
and Management Science: A Journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management SciencesManagement Science: A Journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management SciencesManagement Science: A Journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering the techniques of operations research and scientific approaches to problems of management, marketing, manufacturing, and related fields... - INFORMS Transactions on Education, an online-only, open-access journal
- OR/MS Today: the membership magazine
- OR/MS Tomorrow: the student membership magazine
- Topics in OR (a book series)
- INFORMS Cases and Teaching Materials
The list of 12 INFORMS journals also includes:
- Decision Analysis
- Information Systems ResearchInformation Systems ResearchInformation Systems Research is a peer-reviewed academic journal that covers research in the areas of information systems and information technology. It is published by the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences, and was recently selected as one of the top 20...
- INFORMS Journal on Computing
- INFORMS Transactions on Education (an online, open-access journal)
- Interfaces
- Manufacturing & Service Operations ManagementManufacturing & Service Operations ManagementManufacturing & Service Operations Management is a scholarly, refereed journal that is published quarterly by INFORMS. M&SOM contains research about innovative mathematical methods of implementation in the manufacturing industry and service operations. The research draws heavily from the tools of...
- Marketing ScienceMarketing ScienceMarketing Science is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences. It covers operations research and mathematical modeling to analyze marketing...
- Mathematics of Operations ResearchMathematics of Operations ResearchMathematics of Operations Research is a scholarly journal published since 1976. The founding editor was Arthur F. Veinott, Jr. of Stanford University, who served as editor-in-chief 1976-1980. MOR is published quarterly by INFORMS and indexed by Journal Citation Reports...
- Organization Science: A Journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management SciencesOrganization Science: A Journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management SciencesOrganization Science: A Journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal published by the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences INFORMS...
- Transportation ScienceTransportation ScienceTransportation Science is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences . The studies published in the journal apply operations research techniques to problems in the full range of transportation sectors, including air travel, rail...
All INFORMS scholarly journals are peer-reviewed.
Awards
INFORMS bestows many prizes to recognize superior achievements in practice, publishing, and teaching, and to acknowledge those who have made outstanding contributions to the profession. Prizes include:- Decision Analysis Publication Award
- Frank P. Ramsey Medal, the highest award of the Decision Analysis Society
- Franz Edelman Award for Achievement in Operations Research and the Management SciencesFranz Edelman Award for Achievement in Operations Research and the Management SciencesThe Franz Edelman Award for Achievement in Operations Research and the Management Sciences recognizes excellence in the execution of operations research on the organizational level...
, which recognizes outstanding high-level OR practice - The Daniel H. Wagner Prize for Excellence in Operations Research Practice
- Frederick W. Lanchester PrizeFrederick W. Lanchester PrizeThe Frederick W. Lanchester Prize is an Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences prize given for the best contribution to operations research and the management sciences published in English. It is named after Frederick W. Lanchester.-Past winners:* 1954 Leslie C. Edie* 1955...
for the best contribution to OR published in English - George B. Dantzig Dissertation Award
- George E. Kimball Medal for distinguished service
- George E. Nicholson Student Paper Competition
- INFORMS Expository Writing Award
- INFORMS Impact Prize for contributions that have had a broad impact on the field
- INFORMS President's Award to an individual for important contributions to INFORMS and the profession
- INFORMS Prize, for effective integration of OR into an organization
- INFORMS Prize for the Teaching of OR/MS Practice
- John von Neumann Theory PrizeJohn von Neumann Theory PrizeThe John von Neumann Theory Prize of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciencesis awarded annually to an individual who has made fundamental and sustained contributions to theory in operations research and the management sciences.The Prize named after mathematician John von...
- Philip McCord Morse Lectureship Award
- the Omega Rho Distinguished Lecture Series
INFORMS communities/subdivisions also honor members, with over 35 prizes and awards.
Other activities
- Career:
INFORMS has a Job Placement Service that matches employers and members who are job seekers. The yearly highlight takes place at the society’s annual meeting, where employers have the opportunity to meet job candidates and members are able to advance their careers.
- Education:
INFORMS sponsors many educational and training programs, including the INFORMS Forum on Education, Junior Faculty Interest Group Forum, case and teaching materials, multimedia resources, a Speakers Program, a listing of OR graduate and undergraduate programs, and a teacher training program for high school math teachers.
- INFORMS Communities:
Also known as subdivisions - are important, independent bodies that unite members into local regional groups, focus on special technical interests, and provide the backbone for the organization. Many members belong to more than one group. Communities sponsor conferences, regular meetings, sessions at annual meetings, educational programs, and awards; some provide professional journals and resource publications. INFORMS communities include societies, special interest sections, local and student chapters, forums, a special student honors society, and a Round Table whose members are representatives of OR departments at major organizations.
- Meetings:
Meetings provide scholars and practitioners with the opportunity to exchange information, ideas, and perspectives with their colleagues. INFORMS offers an annual meeting, a conference on the practice of operations research, international meetings, a summer workshop on the teaching of management science, and special interest group meetings.
- Public Awareness:
INFORMS explains the field of operations research and its tremendous potential impact through an active public relations program and a website, which includes examples, case studies, and a directory of consultants.