2026 WORMS Family Care Award

Deadline: September 18^th 2026. 

The Forum for Women in Operations Research and Management Science (WORMS) Family Care Award aims to support INFORMS Annual Meeting attendees who are primary caregivers for a family member. The award will partially reimburse recipients for up to $500 in costs associated with care and/or travel for family members whose caregiver is participating in the 2026 INFORMS Annual Meeting, November 1-4, 2026, San Francisco, CA.

Recipients must be current members of WORMS, who are officially participating in the INFORMS Annual Meeting, including giving an oral or poster presentation, acting as session chair, or participating in the Combined Colloquia. Eligibility is limited to current students, post-doctoral associates, or early-career professionals (e.g., junior faculty or professionals in their first five years of post-graduate employment) who meet one of the following criteria:

• Be the parent or guardian of a child age 12 years or younger who is either also traveling to the conference and/or requires additional care while the parent attends the conference.
• Serve as the primary caregiver for an elderly parent who is either also traveling to the conference and/or requires additional care while the caregiver attends the conference.
• Serve as the primary caregiver for a family member who requires additional assistance who is either also traveling to the conference and/or requires additional care while the caregiver attends the conference.

• Up to $500 in expenses will be reimbursed upon submission of receipts to INFORMS staff to cover extra expenses related to the care of family members, due to the caregiver attending the conference. This may include travel expenses for the family member and extra caregiving expenses at home or at the conference location.
• Priority will be given to those who have never received the award in prior years.
• Award winners will also receive free membership in WORMS for a period of one year.

Applications are due September 18, 2026. Applicants should email Beth West (bwest@informs.org) the following information with the subject line "WORMS Family Care Award 2026":

1. Statement of need (not to exceed 200 words), addressing:
• Why attending this conference is important to you?
• How are you participating in the conference (e.g., giving an oral or poster presentation, acting as session chair, or participating in the Combined Colloquia)? Please provide the title of the presentation, session, or colloquium and your role.
• Why do you need family care?
• What family care do you plan to arrange?
• Why are you requesting financial support?
• An estimated family-care budget, including travel and/or caregiving expenses.
2. Statement verifying applicant’s eligibility from the applicant’s department chair or supervisor.

The WORMS selection committee will assess applications based on their stated need for travel support. Award recipients will be notified by the selection committee no later than October 1, 2026. Recipients should submit all receipts for reimbursement to Beth West no later than 30 days following the conclusion of the conference.

For inquiries, please contact WORMS President Di Nguyen at di.nguyen@ucd.ie.

Notes: Family care must be arranged by the awardee. INFORMS and WORMS are not responsible for identifying caregivers and are not liable for any loss, injury, or damages.

 
Past recipients of the WORMS Family Care Award

2025 WORMS Family Care Award for the Annual meeting - In Memory of Dr. Burcu Keskin:

Ifeoluwa Solaru (Louisiana State University)

Faustina Sarfo (UMass Amherst)

Reut Noham (Tel Aviv University )

2024 WORMS Family Care Award for the Annual meeting:

Tara Eslaminokandeh (Northeastern University)

Ayesha Farooq (Kansas State University)

Sara Abu Aridah (Penn State University)