INFORMS President 1997; TIMS President, 1981-1982
Arthur M. Geoffrion was the 3rd President of INFORMS, the 28th President of TIMS and founder of the INFORMS Roundtable.[1] After receiving his PhD in Operations Research, Geoffrion joined the UCLA Anderson School of Management, where he chaired the management science program for many years and ultimately became James A. Collins Professor of Management. His research resulted in more than 60 published works. Specializing initially in optimization and its applications to production and distribution, he went on to work on the foundations of modeling and computer-based modeling environments, and to take an early lead in exploring the implications of the digital economy for OR/MS. For his many achievements, he was awarded a NATO System Science Prize, designated a Fellow of the International Academy of Management and of INFORMS, named a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and awarded an honorary doctorate from RWTH Aachen University. He is also the recipient of the recipient of the Harold Larnder Prize, awarded by the Canadian OR Society (CORS) for having achieved international distinction in operational research. Over the years he has been a consultant to government and business, and in 1978 co-founded the management-consulting firm, INSIGHT, Inc.
Early in his career, Art served on several ORSA and TIMS committees, and assumed a departmental editorship for Management Science. In 1983 he founded what is now the INFORMS Roundtable, He remained very active in the INFORMS Roundtable for about 25 years. In 1992 he became the fourth recipient of the TIMS Distinguished Service Medal.
His comprehensive vision for the future of INFORMS and OR/MS is indicated by his themes "the shared destiny of academia and practice, the Webification of INFORMS, and improving the partnership between staff and volunteers," which helped to instill enthusiasm and energy in the society and move it from its initial focus on blending the ORSA and TIMS heritages to a focus on discovering and implementing better ways to advance the profession. He was awarded the George E. Kimball Medal by INFORMS in 2000 for his distinguished service to the profession.
Art Geoffrion retired from UCLA at the end of 2005, and continues to be active in a variety of professional service roles.
BME and MIE, Cornell University. PhD, 1965, Operations Research, Stanford
[1] Originally called the TIMS Management Science Roundtable