INFORMS Open Forum

  • 1.  In Memoriam: John D. C. Little, 1928 – 2024

    Posted 10-03-2024 14:41

    Remembering John D. C. Little, 1928 – 2024

    INFORMS is saddened to share it has learned of the passing John D. C. Little, an Institute Professor at MIT (a special rank of the highest honor for MIT faculty), longtime INFORMS member, and former president of INFORMS.  

     

    Little has the distinction of being one of only two people to have been elected president of the Operations Research Society of America (ORSA), The Institute of Management Sciences (TIMS), and INFORMS (that merged ORSA and TIMS). He played a monumental role in merging the two organizations in 1995 and was named the first president of the resulting organization. The INFORMS award for the best paper published in marketing or management science is named in his honor. 

     

    We invite you to join us in this Connect thread in remembering and celebrating John D. C. Little's many incredible contributions and profound impact on INFORMS and the greater OR/MS community. 

     

    To learn more about John D. C. Little's life and career accomplishments, as well as his contributions to the INFORMS community, please click here.  

     

    Obituary and tribute to John D. C. Little can be found at the following website:  

    https://www.deefuneralhome.com/obituaries/John-D-C-Little?obId=33244902#/obituaryInfo. 

     

     



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    Scharan Johnson
    Director of Membership and Communities
    INFORMS
    Catonsville MD
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  • 2.  RE: In Memoriam: John D. C. Little, 1928 – 2024

    Posted 10-04-2024 07:30

    It is with great sadness I have read of John Little's death, but it brought back many happy memories.   It was always a privilege and pleasure to meet up with him at INFORMS and other conferences.  He was a gentleman and a scholar.  

    It was my honour, note the English spelling, to twice chair a plenary session at conferences when John was a speaker.  In 1990, at the International Federation of Operational Research Societies' conference in Athens, he gave the Philip McCord Morse lecture on Operations Research in industry.  It was a call for wisdom from early OR to be relearned and applied. Then in 2016, at INFORMS' Nashville conference, Omega Rho's 40th Anniversary was celebrated with a panel looking back at their Omega Rho Distinguished Lectures.  John was joined by other INFORMS luminaries: Alfred Blumstein, John Birge and Ralph Keeney. 

    He fully deserved the many honours that came his way, but that he was so distinguished was not something he made you aware of in conversation. I consider myself very fortunate to have known John for so many years and been able to engage with him when our paths crossed at conferences.  



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    Graham Rand
    Lancaster, UK
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  • 3.  RE: In Memoriam: John D. C. Little, 1928 – 2024

    Posted 10-10-2024 12:18

    Hi Graham - You mentioned the Annual Meeting in Nashville, which reminded me of the queue to get into the Tuesday night General Reception. It was quite large, and John was overheard saying to another member, "I hate lines." Makes me smile thinking about it.



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    Mary Leszczynski
    Director, Marketing
    INFORMS
    Catonsville MD
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    Original Message


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