INFORMS Names 12 Leaders as 2026 Operations Research Fellows

INFORMS has named 12 academics and industry professionals to its 2026 class of Fellows, honoring them for lifetime achievement in operations research and the management sciences and for significant contributions to the advancement of the profession and the association. Announced on Oct. 6, 2026, the class spans decision analysis, optimization, probability, healthcare engineering, infrastructure resilience, industrial applications and professional service. INFORMS described the designation as one of the highest honors in the field.

Some Fellows were recognized for fundamental methodological work, including contributions to integer optimization, optimization under uncertainty, applied probability and stochastic systems. Others were honored for applying operations research to airline scheduling, revenue management, healthcare, sports, infrastructure, transportation marketplaces and other practical problems. The citations also emphasize teaching, mentoring, publications, open-source software, institutional leadership and sustained service.

INFORMS said the collective impact of the 2026 class extends beyond individual research through students and professionals mentored, organizations advised and professional communities strengthened. Ali E. Abbas, a professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Southern California, is being recognized for distinguished contributions to decision analysis, including influential papers and textbooks.

The citation also credits him with serving as a public spokesperson for the profession and leading work studying and applying ethical decision-making. Jose H. Blanchet, a professor in Stanford University’s Management Science & Engineering Department, is honored for contributions to applied probability and stochastic systems.

His recognized work includes rare-event simulation, exact sampling and the use of optimal transport in distributionally robust optimization, together with sustained service to the community. Timothy C.Y. Chan, an associate vice president and vice provost for strategic initiatives and a professor in the Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering at the University of Toronto, is recognized for contributions to inverse optimization.

INFORMS also cites his applications of operations research in healthcare and sports, along with an exceptional record of educational innovation, student mentorship and service. Oktay Günlük, a professor of industrial and systems engineering at Georgia Tech, is honored for fundamental contributions to integer optimization and technical leadership in large-scale industrial optimization applications. His citation additionally recognizes service to INFORMS and to the broader optimization community.

Industry practice is represented prominently by Timothy L. Jacobs, vice president of Applied AI and Machine Learning at Walmart. INFORMS says he advanced operations research practice by developing and deploying optimization systems used in airline scheduling, revenue management, air logistics and transportation marketplaces.

The association states that these efforts delivered billions in documented industry impact. Robin Lougee, founder and principal of Lougee Decision Intelligence, is being recognized for practical applications of operations research and advanced analytics models across diverse industries. He is also honored for developing and promoting open-source optimization through COIN-OR and for sustained professional service to INFORMS.

Elise Miller-Hooks, the Bill and Eleanor Hazel Endowed Chair in Infrastructure Engineering and department chair at George Mason University, is recognized for contributions to stochastic and dynamic network optimization. Her citation also covers transportation systems and infrastructure resilience, and associates her work with disaster preparedness, sustainable infrastructure and transportation practice. Johannes O.

Royset, a professor in the Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Southern California, is honored for extensive contributions to optimization under uncertainty through innovative research, expository books and tutorials. INFORMS additionally cites his applications of operations research techniques to important practical problems and his service to the association.

Huseyin Topaloglu, a professor in Cornell University’s School of Operations Research and Information Engineering, is recognized for deep theoretical advances in operations management, particularly in revenue management and assortment optimization. The citation also credits him with a transformative impact on industry practice, distinguished teaching and dedicated service to the profession. Amy R.

Ward, the Rothman Family Professor of Operations Management and Charles M. Harper Faculty Fellow at the University of Chicago, is honored for distinguished service to INFORMS publications and the Applied Probability Society. Her recognized scholarly contributions lie at the intersection of stochastics and operations management, particularly in queueing theory.

Yuehwern Yih, the Tompkins Distinguished Professor at Purdue University’s Edwardson School of Industrial Engineering, is being recognized for pioneering contributions to healthcare engineering and humanitarian logistics. INFORMS also cites his advancement of the deployment of operations research in complex real-world environments and associates that work with global societal impacts. Bert Zwart, group leader and professor of stochastics at the Center for Mathematics & Computer Science in Amsterdam and a professor at Eindhoven University of Technology, is honored for sustained fundamental contributions to applied probability.

The citation singles out his analysis of heavy-tailed stochastic systems and their applications to computer, communication and electricity networks. INFORMS CEO and executive director Elena Gerstmann said the class reflects the best of the field through rigorous science, real-world impact and a commitment to the people and community behind it. In her announcement, she said Fellows across theory and practice, academia and industry have helped make better decisions while strengthening the profession and the organization through leadership, mentorship and service.

The announcement itself does not present a new experiment, clinical trial, product evaluation or policy assessment. Instead, it documents the specific work, applications, institutional roles and professional contributions for which each of the 12 people was selected. Within the class, the technical methods range from decision analysis and integer optimization to inverse optimization, stochastic systems, rare-event simulation, exact sampling, optimal transport, distributionally robust optimization, optimization under uncertainty, queueing theory, revenue management, assortment optimization and dynamic network optimization.

The application areas likewise vary, encompassing healthcare delivery and healthcare engineering, sports, humanitarian logistics, disaster preparedness, sustainable infrastructure, industrial operations, airline scheduling, air logistics, transportation marketplaces, and computer, communication and electricity networks. INFORMS said its membership network includes more than 12,000 people spanning academia, industry and government. The 2026 Fellows announcement therefore represents a cross-section of the field, combining lifetime research achievement with implementation, education, mentorship and organizational service rather than a single unified scientific finding.

Subject of Research: INFORMS recognition of 12 leaders in operations research, analytics and decision science

Article Title: INFORMS names 12 operations research and analytics leaders as 2026 Fellows

Article References: INFORMS names 12 operations research and analytics leaders as 2026 Fellows. Original publication (Bibliographic details unavailable.)

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Keywords: operations research, INFORMS Fellows, optimization, stochastic systems, decision analysis, revenue management, network optimization, healthcare engineering, applied probability, transportation systems, INFORMS, names