INFORMS Open Forum

Dear all:

An adjustment to the formal name of the Edelman Award is currently under consideration and INFORMS rules require the Professional Recognition Committee to solicit the input of the INFORMS membership about it. The change proposed by the Practice Section is to adopt the formal name "Franz Edelman Award for achievement in advanced analytics, operations research, and management science." The formal name is to be used the first time the award's name appears in publicity and publications, after which we can all go back to calling it the Edelman Award. 

The name currently used in INFORMS press releases is "the Franz Edelman Award for achievement in operations research and the management sciences", but those press releases also already describe the Edelman Award informally as the "leading award in analytics and operations research".

The rationale for the name adjustment is that starting with "advanced analytics" will help better communicate the topic of the award to the general public, including industry leaders not familiar with O.R./M.S., and will increase the award's visibility outside the INFORMS membership, while continuing with "operations research and management science" gives a full picture of the expertise of the Edelman entrants and the INFORMS community. 

Feel free to weigh in by responding to this thread or by emailing me directly at athiele at smu.edu . Please provide your feedback within three weeks (by June 9, 2017).

Thanks in advance for your input.
Aurelie C. Thiele
--
Chairperson, Professional Recognition Committee
Associate Professor, Engineering Management, Information and Systems, Southern Methodist University
Dallas, TX
"World Changers Shaped Here" http://www.smu.edu

Hello Aurelie, 

I agree with the proposed recommended name change and the intent behind it. For several years I have heard presentations in the Edelman track that would be more accurately described with this change, so I believe it is the right direction. 

Polly

------------------------------
Polly Mitchell-Guthrie
Director, Analytical Consulting Services
University of North Carolina Health Care System
Chapel Hill NC
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 05-19-2017 22:50
From: Aurelie Thiele
Subject: Input Requested - Edelman Award Name Adjustment

Dear all:

An adjustment to the formal name of the Edelman Award is currently under consideration and INFORMS rules require the Professional Recognition Committee to solicit the input of the INFORMS membership about it. The change proposed by the Practice Section is to adopt the formal name "Franz Edelman Award for achievement in advanced analytics, operations research, and management science." The formal name is to be used the first time the award's name appears in publicity and publications, after which we can all go back to calling it the Edelman Award. 

The name currently used in INFORMS press releases is "the Franz Edelman Award for achievement in operations research and the management sciences", but those press releases also already describe the Edelman Award informally as the "leading award in analytics and operations research".

The rationale for the name adjustment is that starting with "advanced analytics" will help better communicate the topic of the award to the general public, including industry leaders not familiar with O.R./M.S., and will increase the award's visibility outside the INFORMS membership, while continuing with "operations research and management science" gives a full picture of the expertise of the Edelman entrants and the INFORMS community. 

Feel free to weigh in by responding to this thread or by emailing me directly at athiele at smu.edu . Please provide your feedback within three weeks (by June 9, 2017).

Thanks in advance for your input.
Aurelie C. Thiele
--
Chairperson, Professional Recognition Committee
Associate Professor, Engineering Management, Information and Systems, Southern Methodist University
Dallas, TX
"World Changers Shaped Here" http://www.smu.edu

Professor Thiele,

The purpose of the Edelman Award is to promote operations research by demonstrating the positive impact that it can have on an organization.

Appending the ambiguous phrase 'advanced analytics' as the first part of the award's description will have the effect of obscuring and diminishing the central role of operations research in creating the benefits associated with the project.

It is not reasonable, or logical, to believe that people who are unfamiliar with operations research will see the proposed description and be more likely to gain a better understanding of the importance of operations research. In fact, since the term 'analytics' is closely associated with data centric disciplines such as 'big data' and data science, people unfamiliar with operations research are likely to associate the award with data centric disciplines.

Since the proposed change will undercut the purpose of the Edelman Award, I strongly oppose its implementation.

------------------------------
Robert Rose
President
Optimal Decisions, LLC
Franklin Park NJ
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 05-19-2017 22:50
From: Aurelie Thiele
Subject: Input Requested - Edelman Award Name Adjustment

Dear all:

An adjustment to the formal name of the Edelman Award is currently under consideration and INFORMS rules require the Professional Recognition Committee to solicit the input of the INFORMS membership about it. The change proposed by the Practice Section is to adopt the formal name "Franz Edelman Award for achievement in advanced analytics, operations research, and management science." The formal name is to be used the first time the award's name appears in publicity and publications, after which we can all go back to calling it the Edelman Award. 

The name currently used in INFORMS press releases is "the Franz Edelman Award for achievement in operations research and the management sciences", but those press releases also already describe the Edelman Award informally as the "leading award in analytics and operations research".

The rationale for the name adjustment is that starting with "advanced analytics" will help better communicate the topic of the award to the general public, including industry leaders not familiar with O.R./M.S., and will increase the award's visibility outside the INFORMS membership, while continuing with "operations research and management science" gives a full picture of the expertise of the Edelman entrants and the INFORMS community. 

Feel free to weigh in by responding to this thread or by emailing me directly at athiele at smu.edu . Please provide your feedback within three weeks (by June 9, 2017).

Thanks in advance for your input.
Aurelie C. Thiele
--
Chairperson, Professional Recognition Committee
Associate Professor, Engineering Management, Information and Systems, Southern Methodist University
Dallas, TX
"World Changers Shaped Here" http://www.smu.edu

Prof Thiele:

I support the proposed Edelman Award name adjustment.

In my view, the word "analytics" has been very helpful in both promoting the broad field within which INFORMS members operate, and also expanding its scope in important modern directions. I think we should take advantage of this and other opportunities to enlarge the market for what we do by including "advanced analytics" as a branding phrase for our field.

Best regards,
Alan

------------------------------
=========
Alan Erera
Associate Chair for Graduate Studies and Professor
School of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Georgia Tech
=========
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 05-23-2017 19:24
From: Robert Rose
Subject: Input Requested - Edelman Award Name Adjustment

Professor Thiele,

The purpose of the Edelman Award is to promote operations research by demonstrating the positive impact that it can have on an organization.

Appending the ambiguous phrase 'advanced analytics' as the first part of the award's description will have the effect of obscuring and diminishing the central role of operations research in creating the benefits associated with the project.

It is not reasonable, or logical, to believe that people who are unfamiliar with operations research will see the proposed description and be more likely to gain a better understanding of the importance of operations research. In fact, since the term 'analytics' is closely associated with data centric disciplines such as 'big data' and data science, people unfamiliar with operations research are likely to associate the award with data centric disciplines.

Since the proposed change will undercut the purpose of the Edelman Award, I strongly oppose its implementation.

------------------------------
Robert Rose
President
Optimal Decisions, LLC
Franklin Park NJ
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 05-19-2017 22:50
From: Aurelie Thiele
Subject: Input Requested - Edelman Award Name Adjustment

Dear all:

An adjustment to the formal name of the Edelman Award is currently under consideration and INFORMS rules require the Professional Recognition Committee to solicit the input of the INFORMS membership about it. The change proposed by the Practice Section is to adopt the formal name "Franz Edelman Award for achievement in advanced analytics, operations research, and management science." The formal name is to be used the first time the award's name appears in publicity and publications, after which we can all go back to calling it the Edelman Award. 

The name currently used in INFORMS press releases is "the Franz Edelman Award for achievement in operations research and the management sciences", but those press releases also already describe the Edelman Award informally as the "leading award in analytics and operations research".

The rationale for the name adjustment is that starting with "advanced analytics" will help better communicate the topic of the award to the general public, including industry leaders not familiar with O.R./M.S., and will increase the award's visibility outside the INFORMS membership, while continuing with "operations research and management science" gives a full picture of the expertise of the Edelman entrants and the INFORMS community. 

Feel free to weigh in by responding to this thread or by emailing me directly at athiele at smu.edu . Please provide your feedback within three weeks (by June 9, 2017).

Thanks in advance for your input.
Aurelie C. Thiele
--
Chairperson, Professional Recognition Committee
Associate Professor, Engineering Management, Information and Systems, Southern Methodist University
Dallas, TX
"World Changers Shaped Here" http://www.smu.edu