2025 Winner(s)
- Margaret L. Brandeau, Stanford University, Management Science and Engineering
Professor Margaret Brandeau is a pioneer in applying operations research and management science to healthcare. She is widely recognized for her work in resource allocation for infectious diseases including HIV, for cost-effectiveness analysis of HIV screening, and public health preparedness. She has co-authored more than 300 papers that are distinguished by their careful organization, beginning with clear motivation and problem statement before embarking on analysis. Her healthcare articles span the methodology of modeling and mathematical analysis, to application domains in operations research and management science. The influence of her writing is demonstrated by frequent citations as well as invitations to serve on important advisory committees of many organizations including the National Institutes of Health, National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Medicine, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Purpose of the Award
Committee Chair
This award recognizes an author whose publications in operations research and management science have set an exemplary standard of exposition. A submission should focus on expository writing, not research accomplishments.
The awardee's written work, published over a period of at least ten years, should indicate (in terms of breadth of readership) an influence and accessibility enhanced by expository excellence. Criteria include the lucidity, conciseness, logic and interest of the writing at all levels, from the general organization to the details. The author must have affected, through these publications, how something is done, studied, taught, or thought about by some group within the OR/MS community.
The written work can contain any combination of practical, theoretical and pedagogical subject matter, and may be original, synthetic or historical. The corpus as a whole must be substantial in content, not necessarily prize-worthy in itself, but not trivial.
Enough of the publications in question must have been singly authored to demonstrate the awardee’s expository skill. A team of authors writing together consistently over many years may also be considered for the award.
The winner will receive $2,000 and a framed certificate that includes a brief citation at the INFORMS Annual Meeting.
Application Process
Nominations due June 30, 2025
About the Award/Namesake
Saul Gass was the 25th President of ORSA.
Dr. Gass first served as a mathematician for the Aberdeen Bombing Mission, U. S. Air Force, and then transferred to Air Force Headquarters where he began his career in operations research with the Directorate of Management Analysis, the organization in which linear programming was first developed. For IBM, he was an Applied Science Representative, Manager of the Project Mercury Man-in-Space Program, and Manager of IBM's Federal Civil Programs. He was a member of the Science and Technology Task Force of the President's Commission on Law Enforcement. He was Director of Operations Research for CEIR, Senior Vice-President of World Systems Laboratories, and Vice-President of Mathematica. He served as a consultant to the U. S. General Accounting Office, Congressional Budget Office, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and other operations research and systems analysis organizations.