CATONSVILLE, MD, May 6, 2020 – INFORMS, the leading international association for professionals in operations research and analytics, has awarded the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada the 2020 UPS George D. Smith Prize. The award recognizes excellence in preparing students to become practitioners of operations research and analytics.
Over the last seven years, Smith School of Business at Queen’s University has enriched its management analytics area by building an ecosystem of degree and non-degree programs, industry and institution collaborations, applied and academic research centers, conferences and other events.
The Smith School launched its first management analytics program in 2013, followed by North America’s first management degree in artificial intelligence (AI) in 2018 and, earlier this year, a new analytics program delivered globally. Designed for working professionals, the programs help students develop skills to apply analytics and AI strategies to business decisions, filling a much-needed talent gap in the workforce.
“We are honored to receive the UPS George D. Smith Prize from INFORMS. It’s a tribute to our global leadership in teaching the management of data analytics and AI, and a strong recognition of our faculty research and exceptional industry partnerships,” said Brenda Brouwer, dean, Smith School of Business at Queen’s University.
Named in honor of the late UPS Chief Executive Officer – a champion of operations researchers at a leading Fortune 500 corporation – the UPS George D. Smith Prize was created in the spirit of strengthening ties between industry and the schools of higher education that graduate young practitioners of operations research. The prize is awarded to an academic department or program for effective and innovative preparation of students to be good practitioners of operations research or analytics.
“On behalf of the INFORMS community, we congratulate Smith School of Business at Queen’s University for their unparalleled efforts to provide top-notch programs and teaching in operations research and analytics. Their work to strengthen ties between academia and industry makes them a standout recipient for this award,” said Melissa Moore, INFORMS executive director.
Past recipients of the award include the University of Cincinnati; University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Air Force Academy; H. John Heinz III College of Information Systems and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University; Sauder School of Business at University of British Columbia – Center for Operations Excellence; MIT Leaders for Global Operations (LGO); Naval Postgraduate School; and Tauber Institute for Global Operations at the University of Michigan.
The finalists for the 2020 Smith Prize included: Darla Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina and the Department of Information and Decision Sciences at the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota.
About INFORMS
With 12,500 members from nearly 90 countries, INFORMS is the largest international association of operations research (O.R.) and analytics professionals and students. INFORMS provides unique networking and learning opportunities for individual professionals, and organizations of all types and sizes, to better understand and use O.R. and analytics tools and methods to transform strategic visions and achieve better outcomes. Visit www.informs.org or @informs.
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Contact:
Ashley Smith
443-757-3578
Media Contact
Ashley Smith
Public Affairs Coordinator
INFORMS
Catonsville, MD
[email protected]
443-757-3578