ICS Distinguished Service Award

The 2024 Distinguished Service Award Committee members are: 

TBA

2021 Award Recipient: David L. Woodruff, University of California, Davis

Professor David Woodruff has rendered dedicated and outstanding service to the INFORMS Computing Society for over 25 years. His impact began when he was General Chair of the successful INFORMS Computer Science Technical Section (CSTS, the predecessor of ICS) meeting held in Monterey in January 1998 and he edited the associated conference book. This was followed by his leadership as Chair of ICS (2001-2003) and society representative on the INFORMS Subdivision Council. 

But among his deepest contributions was his service as Editor-in-Chief of the INFORMS Journal on Computing (2013-2018). Under his leadership, the journal grew in stature, quality, and importance within the INFORMS community. Prior to this, he served the journal as an Associate Editor and the Area Editor for Heuristic Search and Learning. 

Dave's continuous dedication to ICS encompassed many other supporting activities:  Acting Editor in Chief of the ICS Newsletter for three years, Chair of the ICS Student Paper Award Committee, and a member of the ICS Service Award and the IJoC Test of Time Paper Prize committees.   Throughout, Dave was always a moving spirit and enlivened the ICS Business meetings.

We are grateful to Dave for his many years of leadership and dedicated service to ICS, and for his notable contributions to the Society.

The 2021 Distinguished Service Award Committee members are: 

• Dick Barr (SMU) 
• Kevin Furman (ExxonMobil) 
• Ariela Sofer, Chair (GMU) 

2019 Award Recipient: Allen Holder

Professor Allen Holder, a long-time member and contributor to ICS, epitomizes what this award was created to recognize: the spirit of selfless volunteerism displayed in the taking on of largely thankless jobs to the benefit of the entire ICS community. One of Allen's earliest contributions was to take over the care and feeding of the Mathematical Programming Glossary from Harvey Greenberg himself and to bring it under the auspices of ICS. This years-long project involved moving the entire glossary to a modern Web platform. In testament to the effectiveness of this work, the glossary still exists today and lives on as the INFORMS Mathematical Programming glossary. Allen was also an important contributor to another years-long effort under the auspices of ICS---the Education Committee, which endeavored to write a detailed report making recommendations for programs wishing to incorporate computational science into their curricula. At the time, that report was considered to have an important impact and is still a relevant reference document today. In addition to these "behind-the-scenes" contributions, Allen was an IJOC Area Editor from mid-2009 (taking over from Harvey) through the end of 2018. The area he edited was called “Computational Biology and Medical Applications” until 2010 when he renamed it “Applications in Biology, Medicine, and Health Care.” These are only some of the many ways in which Allen contributed over the years to the growth and success of ICS, which has remained one of INFORMS' largest and most vibrant societies over a long span of time due to contributions like his. We humbly thank Allen for his many contributions over the years.

2017 Award Recipient:  John W. Chinneck

Professor John W. Chinneck has been a key contributor to the success of the INFORMS Computing Society through his innovative leadership, conference organization, and editorial advances. He has served in virtually every Society officer position, including ICS chair from 2006-2007, during which time many innovations were initiated. These innovations include the development of the Greenberg-service and student-paper awards, the Education Committee for OR/CS curriculum design, partnership with COIN-OR, leading-edge tutorials, and advances in ICS online resources. He was co-chair of the 2009 ICS Conference in Charleston, served on the advisory and program committees for the 2007 and 2009 meetings, and has been the Society's cluster chair for many national INFORMS conferences. He was Area Editor for INFORMS Journal on Computing's Modeling Methods and Analysis, and the journal's Editor-in-Chief from 2007-2012, guiding its growth into new topic areas, book reviews, and on-line manuscript management and journal access.

We hereby thank John Chinneck for his long service to ICS and appreciate his important contributions to the success of our Society.

2015 Award Recipient:  Richard S. Barr

Professor Richard S. Barr has been an active member of INFORMS Computing Society and its predecessor Computing Science Technical Section (CSTS).

Dick has served CSTS and ICS in many ways. In the 1990’s he served as the Area Editor for INFORMS Journal on Computing’s High-Performance Computation Department. In 1996 he was the Chair for the CSTS Conference held in Dallas. It was a very successful meeting. He was then elected Chair of the INFORMS Computing Society from 1997-1998. Later he also served as a member of ICS Prize Committee. Most recently he has served as a member of the ICS Board of Directors for several years.

Dick Barr’s service to ICS for a long time is recognized and appreciated. We are proud to give him this award for 2015.

2013 Award Recipient:  Ramesh Sharda

Ramesh Sharda’s research on the comparison of linear and mixed integer programming software on personal computers in the mid 1980’s led him to join the Computer Science Technical Section (CSTS), the predecessor of the ICS. By 1988, he had become the General Chairperson for the first CSTS meeting held in Williamsburg, Virginia (this was the second CSTS meeting; the first was in Denver).

This 1989 meeting attracted nearly 160 OR/CS attendees. George Dantzig gave the plenary lecture. Ramesh co-edited the conference volume. Everything about the meeting was first rate, from the strong scientific program to the high quality of the conference venue. The success of this meeting created a buzz among the CSTS membership. Ramesh set the bar high for (and ensured that there would be) future meetings.

In 1992, Ramesh served as Program Co-chair of the third CSTS meeting and he again co-edited the conference volume. In addition, Ramesh was a member of the Organizing Committee for the 1994 CSTS meeting. In the early years (late 1980’s to early 1990’s), Ramesh was the key player in putting the CSTS meetings on the conference map. He, essentially, created the blueprint for successful ICS meetings.

Ramesh has contributed in numerous other ways, as well. He served as Chair of CSTS and a Member of the ICS Board of Directors and the ICS Prize Committee. He has been a long-time Associate Editor of the INFORMS Journal on Computing. In the early 1990’s, he launched the OR/CS Interfaces Series with Kluwer Academic Publishers. This book series has published more than 50 titles.

For nearly 25 years, Ramesh Sharda has helped govern, shape, and promote CSTS and ICS. We thank Ramesh for his extensive service to the Society by awarding him the 2013 Harvey J. Greenberg Service Award. 

2011 Award Recipient:  Bruce Golden

Bruce Golden has been tirelessly working on behalf of the INFORMS Computing Society since its inception. For eight years, Bruce was editor-in-chief of theORSA Journal on Computing(1992-1995) and theINFORMS Journal on Computing(JOC)(1996-1999). Through his leadership, the JOC became a highly visible, well-respected academic journal with top-tier status and a very high impact factor. Bruce increased subscriptions, secured institutional sponsors, and, most importantly, sought out and published the very best work by the very best researchers and practitioners. He redesigned the JOC cover in 1992 and that design is still in use today. After stepping down as editor-in-chief, Bruce has continued to serve on the Journal’s Advisory Board.

In addition to his editorial activities, Bruce has also had a very long history of involvement with the ICS conferences. He was a member of the program and advisory committees for seven of its conferences and co-chaired both the 1989 and 2005 ICS conferences. He co-edited three of the conference volumes and has attended and given talks at all twelve of the conferences.

His leadership roles within the Society include serving as a Council Member of the Computer Science Section of ORSA (1982-1985), as a member of the CSTS Long Range Planning Committee (1990-1991), as a Council Member of ICS (1998-2001), and as a member of the ICS Board of Directors (2010-2012). Bruce was also the co-recipient of the 2005 ICS Prize.

For nearly 30 years, in his roles as journal editor, conference organizer and chair, and council member, Bruce Golden has made outstanding contributions to the INFORMS Computing Society. He has provided ICS with a world-class journal, helped strengthen its financial position, and helped govern its membership. Because of Bruce’s untiring efforts on ICS’s behalf, the Society continues to thrive.

2009 Award Recipient:  Karla L. Hoffman

Karla Hoffman was instrumental in the evolution of the Operations Research Society of America's Special Interest Group on Computing into the Computer Science Technical Section of ORSA in 1980. The SIG on Computing and the CSTS were precursors of the INFORMS Computing Society. Among her many leadership roles, Karla served as the Secretary/Treasurer of the SIG on Computing in 1980 and the Chair of the CSTS in 1981. She helped to develop the strategic vision that Sections were central to the long-term viability of ORSA. In Karla's position as Chair of the ORSA Technical Sections Committee, she worked to establish direct and ongoing ORSA Board funding for Sections which enabled the continued growth of the CSTS. Karla helped organize the first CSTS symposium at the University of Colorado at Denver in 1985 and co-edited the first conference volume. The symposium was the forerunner to the INFORMS Computing Society's biennial conference. In 1986, she aided in the launch of the ORSA Journal on Computing, which subsequently became the INFORMS Journal on Computing. Through her involvement at all levels of INFORMS, Karla has been a forceful advocate for Computing and her contributions have had a significant and lasting impact on the Computing Society.

Karla's wisdom, common sense, and guidance have helped the INFORMS Computing Society navigate through critical moments in its history. Because of her vision and leadership, the Society is a thriving organization today and has a bright future ahead.