INFORMS Societies

INFORMS Societies

Societies are the flagships of the INFORMS communities. INFORMS Societies are significantly larger than the sections, chapters, or forums, and focus on a common theme.

Analtyics Society

Analytics Society

The Analytics Society of INFORMS is focused on promoting the use of data-driven analytics and fact-based decision making in practice. The Society recognizes that analytics is seen as both (i) a complete business problem solving and decision making process, and (ii) a broad set of analytical methodologies that enable the creation of business value. To this purpose, the Society promotes the integration of a wide range of analytical techniques and the end-to-end analytics process. It will support activities that illuminate significant innovations and achievements in specific steps and/or in the execution of the process as a whole, where success is defined by the impact on the business.

Applied Probability Society

Applied Probability

The Society is concerned with the application of probability theory to systems that involve random phenomena, for example, manufacturing, communication network, computer network, service, and financial systems. The Society promotes the development and use of methods for the improvement of evaluation, control, and design of these systems. Such methods include (stochastic) dynamic programming, queueing theory, Markov decision process, discrete event dynamic systems, point processes, large deviations, reliability, and so on. Our members include practitioners, educators, and researchers with backgrounds in business, engineering, statistics, mathematics, economics, computer science, and other applied sciences.

Computing

Computing

The INFORMS Computing Society (ICS) addresses the interface of OR and computing. Since their earliest days, OR and computing have been tightly linked. The practice of OR depends heavily on the availability of software and systems capable of solving industrial-scale problems: computing is the heart of OR in application.

ICS is INFORMS' leading edge for computation and technology. Major ICS interests are algorithms and software for modeling, optimization, and simulation.ICS is also interested in the leading edge of computing and how it affects OR (e.g. XML modeling standards, OR services offered over the web, open source software, constraint programming, massively parallel computing, high performance computing).

Data Mining

Data Mining

The mission of the Data Mining Society is to promote and disseminate research and applications among professionals interested in theory, methodologies, and applications in data mining and knowledge discovery.

Decision Analysis

Decision Analysis

The Decision Analysis Society promotes the development and use of logical methods for improving decision-making in public and private enterprise. Such methods include models for decision-making under conditions of uncertainty or multiple objectives; techniques of risk analysis and risk assessment; experimental and descriptive studies of decision-making behavior; economic analysis of competitive and strategic decisions; techniques for facilitating decision-making by groups; and computer modeling software and expert systems for decision support. Our members include practitioners, educators, and researchers with backgrounds in engineering, business, economics, statistics, psychology, and other social and applied sciences.

Health Applications Society

Health Applications Society

The Health Applications Society focuses on the topics of health applications, with the aim of identifying current and potential problems and contributions to their solutions; to lead in the development, dissemination, and implementation of knowledge and advancing the basic and applied research technologies on health applications.

Information Systems

Information Systems

The INFORMS Information Systems Society seeks to foster, promote, and disseminate research on the use and impact of information technology in organizations. It provides a forum for researchers and practitioners in information systems to interact and further their interests in the area. One of the goals of the society is to encourage interdisciplinary research by leveraging connections between other societies and colleges within the INFORMS environment.

Manufacturing & Service Operations Management

Manufacturing & Service Operations Management

MSOM promotes the enhancement and dissemination of knowledge, and the efficiency of industrial practice, related to the operations function in manufacturing and service enterprises. The methods which MSOM members apply in order to help the operations function add value to products and services are derived from a wide range of scientific fields, including operations research and management science, mathematics, economics, statistics, information systems and artificial intelligence. The members of MSOM include researchers, educators, consultants, practitioners and students, with backgrounds in these and other applied sciences.

Marketing Science

Marketing Science

The major purpose of the ISMS is to foster the development, dissemination, and implementation of knowledge, basic and applied research, and science and technologies that improve the understanding and practice of marketing.

Military Applications Society

Military and Security Society

The Military and Security Society (MAS) is a technical society within the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS). MAS welcomes members from around the globe who share a common interest in its goals. 

The goals of MAS are to:

  1. Promote the development and application of ORMS/Analytics methods, techniques, and tools to the solution of problems in the Military and Security areas.
  2. Encourage the exchange of information among practitioners and users in the military and security areas.
  3. Encourage more interest by practitioners and students in the Military and Security areas.
  4. Promote the maintenance of high professional standards in the application of ORMS/Analytics methods to the Military and Security areas.

MAS achieves its purpose through a program of meetings, awards, publications and other activities. 

Optimization

Optimization

The Optimization Society has two goals:

  1. to promote the development and application of optimization methods and software tools for the solution of problems in OR/MS and
  2. to encourage the exchange of information among practitioners and scholars in the optimization area.
Simulation

Simulation

Organized and operated exclusively for educational and scientific purposes:

a. to encourage the development and dissemination of knowledge in the area of simulation; and
b. to promote communication and interaction among individuals and organizations who share an interest in simulation.

Transportation Science & Logistics

Transportation Science & Logistics

The TSL Society provides INFORMS members with a sustained, specialized focus on these topics, including current and potential problems and contributions to their solution, and supports efforts to extend, unify, and integrate related branches of knowledge and practice. We encourage the education of students and the continuing education of practitioners. The Society is the editorial home of one of INFORMS’ flagship journals, Transportation Science. The Society includes five special interest groups: 

Air Transportation, Freight Transportation and Logistics, Urban Transportation Planning and Modeling, Facility Logistics, and Intelligent Transportation Systems.