This year’s honorees have transformed research and practice across AI, healthcare, energy, supply chains and transportation while advancing the operations research profession
BALTIMORE, Oct. 6, 2026 – INFORMS, the world’s largest association for professionals and students in operations research (OR), AI, analytics and data science, has named 12 distinguished leaders as the 2026 class of INFORMS Fellows, one of the highest honors in the profession.
INFORMS Fellows are recognized for outstanding lifetime achievement in operations research and the management sciences and for significant contributions to the advancement of the profession and INFORMS.
Collectively, this year’s Fellows have made pioneering contributions across academia and industry, advancing artificial intelligence, optimization and decision science while tackling consequential problems in healthcare delivery, supply chain resilience, clean energy, transportation and industrial operations. Their impact extends beyond their individual research and practice through the students and professionals they have mentored, the organizations they have advised and the OR community they have helped build.
"This year's class reflects the very best of our field: rigorous science, real-world impact, and a deep commitment to the people and community behind it," said Elena Gerstmann, CEO and executive director of INFORMS. "Across theory and practice, academia and industry, these Fellows have helped the world make better decisions. Just as importantly, they have strengthened the profession and our organization through decades of leadership, mentorship and service. INFORMS is proud to recognize them.”
2026 Fellows
Ali E. Abbas, professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Southern California, is being recognized for distinguished contributions to decision analysis, including influential papers and textbooks; being a public spokesperson for the profession; and leadership in studying and applying ethical decision-making.
Jose H. Blanchet, professor in the Management Science & Engineering Department at Stanford University, is being recognized for contributions to applied probability and stochastic systems; for the advancement of rare event simulation, exact sampling and the use of optimal transport in distributionally robust optimization; and for sustained service to the community.
Timothy C.Y. Chan, associate vice president and vice provost, strategic initiatives, and professor in the Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering at the University of Toronto, is being recognized for outstanding contributions to inverse optimization; impactful applications of OR in healthcare and sports; and an exceptional record of educational innovation, student mentorship and service.
Oktay Günlük, professor of industrial and systems engineering at Georgia Tech, is being recognized for fundamental contributions to integer optimization, technical leadership in large-scale industrial optimization applications, and service to both INFORMS and the optimization community.
Timothy L. Jacobs, vice president of Applied AI and Machine Learning at Walmart, is being recognized for advancing operations research practice by developing and deploying pioneering optimization systems in airline scheduling, revenue management, air logistics, and transportation marketplaces; and delivering billions in documented industry impact.
Robin Lougee, founder and principal of Lougee Decision Intelligence, is being recognized for practical applications of operations research and advanced analytics models across diverse industries, development and promotion of open-source optimization through COIN-OR and sustained professional service to INFORMS.
Elise Miller-Hooks, the Bill and Eleanor Hazel Endowed Chair in Infrastructure Engineering and department chair at George Mason University, is being recognized for contributions to stochastic and dynamic network optimization; transportation systems and infrastructure resilience, with consequential impact on disaster preparedness; sustainable infrastructure; and transportation practice.
Johannes O. Royset, professor at the Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Southern California, is being recognized for extensive contributions to the field of optimization under uncertainty, including innovative research, expository books and tutorials; applications of OR techniques to important practical problems; and service provided to the INFORMS community.
Huseyin Topaloglu, professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Cornell University, is being recognized for deep theoretical advances in operations management, particularly in revenue management and assortment optimization; transformative impact on industry practice; distinguished teaching; and dedicated service to the profession.
Amy R. Ward, Rothman Family Professor of Operations Management and Charles M. Harper Faculty Fellow at the University of Chicago, is being recognized for distinguished service to INFORMS publications and the Applied Probability Society, and for contributions to the intersections of stochastics and operations management, particularly in queueing theory.
Yuehwern Yih, the Tompkins Distinguished Professor at the Edwardson School of Industrial Engineering at Purdue University, is being recognized for pioneering contributions to healthcare engineering and humanitarian logistics and advancing the deployment of operations research in complex real-world environments with global societal impacts.
Bert Zwart, group leader and professor of stochastics at the Center for Mathematics & Computer Science (CWI Amsterdam) and Eindhoven University of Technology, is being recognized for sustained fundamental contributions to applied probability, in particular, the analysis of heavy-tailed stochastic systems and applications to computer, communication and electricity networks.
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