Navy Federal Credit Union data scientist recognized for pioneering operations research solutions that strengthen financial decision-making and member outcomes.
INFORMS, the world’s largest association for professionals and students in operations research (O.R.), AI, analytics and data science, has awarded the INFORMS Early Career Practitioner Award to Athanasios (Thanos) Lolos, principal data scientist at Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU), for his outstanding contributions in applying operations research and advanced analytics to real-world financial challenges. In just a few years, Lolos has helped transform how the world’s largest credit union, which serves more than 14 million members, uses data-driven insights to guide enterprise decision-making, improve financial forecasting and strengthen member engagement.
Lolos will receive the Early Career Practitioner Award on Monday, April 13 at the 2026 INFORMS Analytics+ Conference in National Harbor, Md.
Among Thanos’ most impactful achievements is leading the development of NFCU’s first Enterprise Financial Health Model, an innovative analytics framework that assesses the financial wellness of millions of members through dynamic scoring and advanced statistical modeling. The model is used across multiple divisions, including lending, marketing, risk and collections, and helps identify members who may benefit from targeted financial services while supporting more coordinated, data-informed decision-making across the organization.
Lolos has also built predictive machine learning models, forecasting frameworks and monitoring systems that enhance financial planning and operational efficiency across the credit union. His work has improved predictive accuracy for key financial models, streamlined reporting processes and introduced early-warning analytics for monitoring business performance. In parallel with his industry work, Lolos remains active in research, advancing methods in quantile estimation and simulation modeling and contributing to the broader operations research community through publications, conference presentations and peer review.
The INFORMS Early Career Practitioner Award was created to engage and recognize early career professionals in the field of operations research. INFORMS acknowledges the unique needs of practitioners and has worked to prioritize resources to aid in their professional growth throughout their careers. This award seeks to acknowledge individuals who have made significant contributions within the initial five years of employment following graduation and their current work outside of academia.
For more information on the INFORMS Early Career Practitioner Award, click here.
About INFORMS
INFORMS is the world’s largest association for professionals and students in operations research, AI, analytics, data science and related disciplines, serving as a global authority in advancing cutting-edge practices and fostering an interdisciplinary community of innovation. With a network of more than 12,000 members spanning academia, industry and government, INFORMS connects thought leaders, experts and emerging professionals who advance and apply AI, mathematics, analytics and other sciences and technologies to solve complex challenges and drive impactful decision-making.
Through its prestigious peer-reviewed journals, world-class conferences, industry-leading certification programs and a suite of professional resources, INFORMS empowers its community to enhance operational efficiency, elevate organizational performance and promote smarter decisions for a better world. Discover more at www.informs.org.
###
Contact:
Rebecca Seel
Public Affairs Specialist
(443) 757-3578
Media Contact
Jeff Cohen
Chief Strategy Officer
INFORMS
Catonsville, MD
[email protected]
443-757-3565