# 2020 RAS Student Paper Award Announcement

RAS (Railway Applications Section), a subdivision of INFORMS (Institute for Operations Research and Management Sciences), is sponsoring a student research paper contest on analytics and fact-based decision making in railway applications with three cash prizes totalling US$1,750. First Prize:$1000
Second Prize: $500 Third Prize:$250

Rules:

1. The paper must be written by one or more BSc/MSc/PhD students enrolled in an academic institution at any time during the year ending on the submission deadline. For example, a student now employed who graduated earlier in the year is acceptable.
2. One or more advisers may appear as co-authors of a paper, but the student(s) must be the "primary author" and the content must be at least 80% attributable to the student authors. Advisers of finalist papers will be contacted to verify this information.
3. The paper must demonstrate a subject area of OR/MS that is representative of INFORMS subjects, and may apply to any railway system (freight, passenger, heavy rail, light rail, etc.).
4. The paper must represent original research (not literature reviews) and not have been previously published in a peer-reviewed journal, book, or published conference proceeding.
5. If the paper is under review by any publishers, please let us know where and when it is submitted, and at what stage of the review process it is.
6. The paper is expected to follow a general structure and length suitable for journal publication. The judges may reject papers that are excessively long or inappropriately formatted.
7. The judges reserve the right to reject papers at an early stage in the competition due to irrelevant subject matter or fundamental errors in composition.
8. Papers must be written in US or UK English.
9. In the event of any disagreement over the enforcement of the rules, the decision of the judges is final.
10. Due to the impact of COVID-19, instead of attending in-person award session, 2020 INFORMS RAS student award recipients still have to participate but can make a presentation with TBD format which depends on how INFORMS structures the annual meeting. Award recipients must travel to the INFORMS Annual Meeting, usually held in the fall in the United States, at their own expense and give a presentation on their paper. Recipients will receive instructions on when and how to attend. Failure to present disqualifies the recipient and the award is re-allocated.

## How to enter:

Deadline for submission is June 30, 2020

Submit your application at: raspaperaward2020@gmail.com. Your submission should include contact information, supervisor’s name, affiliation and manuscript.

Manuscript formatting: The manuscript length should not exceed 40 pages. The line spacing should be double-spaced. First page: paper title, authors’ name(s) and affiliation(s). Second page: paper title and abstract (max 300 words). Third page: paper title and the main text.

Important dates:

• March 15, 2020 Competition announced
• June 30, 2020 Paper submission
• September 20, 2020 Winners announced
• November 8-10, 2020 Presentation at 2020 INFORMS Annual Meeting in National Harbor, MD, USA