Past Awards
Dr. Lilien is Distinguished Research Professor of Management Science at Penn State, Distinguished Professor of Marketing of University of Technology, Sydney and co-founder and Research Director of Penn State’s Institute for the Study of Business Markets, the world's leading institution focusing research and improvement of practice in B2B markets. He is author or co-author of over a dozen books (including Marketing Models and Marketing Engineering) and well over 100 articles primarily on the application of marketing analytics and B2B marketing. He created the ISMS Practice Prize in 2003 (renamed the Gary Lilien, ISMS-MSI Practice Prize in his honor), awarded to the best work globally that applies leading edge marketing science work with verified practical impact.
Gary Lilien’s high enthusiasm, remarkable productivity, and enduring concentration on OR/MS have produced great benefits for our field and its professional societies. He began by earning three consecutive degrees in O.R. at Columbia University, completing his doctorate in 1973. After a stint in O.R. at Mobil Corporation, he joined the management science faculty of MIT, later moving to Penn State where he is Distinguished Research Professor of Management Science and also co-founder and Research Director of the university’s Institute for the Study of Business Markets.
Professor Lilien focused his career on bridging the gap between research and practice, or “rigor and relevance,” within OR/MS in general, and within marketing science in particular. He originated, pilot tested, and helped to make permanent the videotaping of Edelman-competition presentations, and he co-edited the first collection of Edelman-competition papers. As editor-in-chief of Interfaces, he converted it into a refereed journal, increasing its academic stature while still maintaining its value to practitioners. He also pioneered the now routine rewriting of Interfaces articles to make them accessible to a wider audience. More recently he was named by INFORMS to be the 2001-2002 Philip M. Morse Lecturer.
Dr. Lilien has done much to spread the influence of OR/MS in marketing. He was author or co-author of twelve books, including the well known Marketing Models and Marketing Engineering. He was the marketing departmental editor for Management Science, editor of a special Interfaces issue on marketing engineering (2001), an area editor for Marketing Science, and has occupied various other positions with journals. His influence has been global, as illustrated by serving on the editorial board of the International Journal for Research in Marketing and being U.S coordinator for the European Marketing Academy.
His contribution to INFORMS management was historic in that he was the last TIMS president to serve a full term (1993-94). During his presidency, and facilitated by his strong support, the merger of ORSA and TIMS into INFORMS was approved by the OR/MS board (combined councils of ORSA and TIMS) and then by the memberships. Over the years he held numerous positions in TIMS, ORSA, and INFORMS, including being a candidate for president of INFORMS in 1999. At present he serves on the Advisory Board of the INFORMS Marketing Society and on the Public Information Committee (PIC), which he chaired or co-chaired from 1999 to 2001. He has been instrumental in advancing a PIC initiative to brand and market the OR/MS profession, a current top-priority program of the INFORMS leadership.
Gary Lilien’s achievements have been truly exceptional. For his distinguished service to the profession and its societies, the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences expresses its profound appreciation by awarding him the 2002 George E. Kimball Medal.
Awards presented by Randy Robinson, Committee Chair, and Michael Trick, President, November 18, 2002.