Honoring the People, Institutions, Methods, and Applications of O.R. that made History
Operations Research has deep roots in the history of mathematics, statistics, economics, industry and the military. This subsite gives you access to pages from which can learn about more than 240 historic individuals (including Nobel Prize winners, INFORMS prize winners, INFORMS Fellows, and members of National Academies), as well as the historic institutions, methodologies and application areas that are central to the modern history and current activities of the profession.
The subsite incorporates images, reference citations, and links to online material, including video oral history interviews, archives, memoirs, selected publications, and bibliographies. The oral histories created by INFORMS include searchable synchronized transcripts and are divided into chapters. The subsite contains a wealth of resources for both casual and intensive exploration including bibliographies and links to published material.
The great preponderance of material, including relevant papers in INFORMS publications, is open access. By special arrangement with Springer, INFORMS members can access chapters from "Profiles in Operations Research: Pioneers and Innovators," edited by Arjang Assad and Saul Gass.
The subsite has been created and is maintained by the INFORMS History and Traditions Committee, which encourages and facilitates the collection and preservation of materials relating to the history and traditions of OR/MS. New materials, including several oral history interviews done each year, are added on a continuing basis. Contact the committee if you would like to contribute material to the various topic pages on institutions, methodologies and application areas (see the "Chemical and Petroleum" application area page and the "University of Texas" academic institution page for examples).
A guide to the subsite can be found in the August 2017 issue, vol. 44 no. 4, of OR/MS Today, the INFORMS Member Magazine.
People in the History of Operations Research
Presidential Portrait Gallery
The Presidential Portrait Gallery contains pictures and biographical sketches of presidents of ORSA, TIMS, and INFORMS. The Gallery is named in honor of two leaders in our profession: Hugh Miser and Carl Harris. Hugh moved and inspired us all with his care for and strong commitment to the history and traditions of our field. Carl provided the main impetus for the conception of the Gallery and was intimately involved with its formation and development until his untimely demise. The passion that Hugh and Carl shared for their chosen profession continues to guide and inspire us.
Institutions in the History of Operations Research
Subject Areas in the History of Operations Research
Resources in the History of Operations Research
An Annotated Timeline of Operations Research: An Informal History recounts the evolution of Operations Research (O.R.) as a new science - the science of decision making.
Bibliography: The Origins of OR
is the INFORMS series of research monographs for O.R. professionals. Its origin is in the Military Applications Section of ORSA whose goals are: to advance research in military operations; foster higher standards in the practice of military O.R.; promote the exchange of information among developers and users of military O.R.; and encourage students of military O.R.
The INFORMS Conference Presentation Database provides information on over 56,000 presentations from INFORMS meetings, starting with meetings held in 2002.
The Annual Comprehensive Index (ACI) Bibliographic Database contains approximately 38,818 journal bibliographic entries covering the years 1976 - 2001. The records for ACI were contributed by IFORS, publisher of International Abstracts in Operations Research (IAOR).
Bernard O. Koopman
Operations Evaluation Group
Office of the Chief of Naval Operations
Navy Department
Washington, D.C. 1946
If you have not visited the INFORMS O.R. History website in recent months, then you're probably noticing some differences. The recent upgrade of the site has much new content that has been added since our last description in the October 2015 issue of OR/MS Today.
Long-term prospects and aspirations for historical preservation, research and communication.
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