Volume 10 | Number 1 | March 2016 | ISSN 2223-4373 International Federation of Operational Research Societies NEWS From the Editor What’s Inside From the Editor Meetings Matter! 1 Meetings Matter! Elise del Rosario <[email protected]> 1 IFORS 2017 I had the fortune of meeting Rolfe and Maurice, whose 1 IFORS 2020 Host Announced obits are featured here, through my participation in several conferences. It is then I realized that it is through these Editorial - From the President meetings that you get to know more about the person 2 The Members of IFORS coming up with all the brilliant work that you read about. From the Immediate Past President These made me realize how important conferences are, not 2 Views from an Outgoing Immediate Past only in updating one’s knowledge about the discipline but President also in creating networks and picking the brains of people Obituaries who have contributed in their own ways to the discipline. 3 Rolfe Cartwright Tomlinson Conferences have a definite role to play, and this issue takes 4 Maurice Francis Shutler a closer look at what happens on the preparation side of Conferences conferences, through the interview of Tamás Terlaky, chief architect of the INFORMS 4 MOGP2015 Attains Multiple Objectives 2015 Annual meeting. Maybe not along the same magnitude in delegate numbers, other such conferences were prepared for painstakingly in Algeria, China, Iran, Nepal, 5 POP conference on Optimization and Control Held in South Central China Nigeria, Slovenia and Sri Lanka, as we will read in this issue. And there are still the ones to happen – the IFORS conferences in Poznan, Mexico, Cape Town, Quebec and in 4 6 OR Conference in Iran: A First in Many Ways years, in Seoul*. 7 Scaling the Challenges of Sustainable Development These conferences let us pick up hints of the future to come (the likes of the Tutorial article), and issues that are plaguing the developing world (such as the one covered 7 INFORN Holds 7th Conference; Celebrates in our Book Review). Of course, all the materials you will be reading in this issue were IFORS Membership made possible through the efforts of our community. 8 OR Blooms in Bled Who compose the IFORS community? Do read the thoughtful insights of our President. Feature 9 INFORMS Interview: Making a From my end, thanks have been sealed and delivered to Editors and Correspondents Big Conference Great (listed in the Editorial Box) all over the world. Though not in this list, you are most welcome to contribute and let us hear about happenings in your part of the world, in 10 EURO Call for Papers your area of OR work! OR for Development 11 ICORD 2015 12 ICORD 2016 12 EWG ORD Poznan 21st Conference of the International Federation of Operational Research Societies 13 EURO in Poznan, Poland OR/ANALYTICS FOR A BETTER WORLD Book Review Quebec City Convention Center, Canada 13 Developing Country Perspectives on July 17-21, 2017 | URL: http://ifors2017.ca Public Service Delivery Tutorial 14 Computation and Visualization of Complex Networks OR Impact 16 Optimizing Moveable Ambulance Station Location and Vehicle Repositioning for the City of São Paulo Using the ‘Bees’ Algorithm OR Society in Focus 19 At 40 KORMS Fortifies Position as a Leader Breaking News: IFORS 2020 will be hosted by the Korean in Asian OR Operations Research and Management Science Society. Read the Editorial Box IFORS President’s announcement of the bid result @ http://ifors.org/web/presidents-welcome/ P. 1 • IFORS NEWS March 2016 Editorial The Members of IFORS Mike Trick <[email protected]> I recently received an email from some conference organizers are we helping our four regional asking for IFORS to co-sponsor their conference. As part of the groupings of EURO, ALIO, APORS incentive for us to do so, they offered a reduced registration and NORAM? Of course, given fee for “all your members”. I spent some time pondering what the range of societies and their that might mean for IFORS. The IFORS membership consists needs, it is clear that different of 52 member societies. Did they mean to offer reduced members need different things. registration to the nearly 30,000 members of our constituent IFORS members range in size societies? That would certainly put a dent into their regular- from those with thousands of fee registrations! Or perhaps they had in mind that our members to societies whose societies might register on their own? “Hi, I am France. Can membership can be comfortably I get a room for 440 please?” Clearly the concept of “society seated around a restaurant table, of societies” is not common, and an aspect that makes IFORS and it is unlikely that any service unusual in the operational research world. will be relevant to all. I have been thinking of this in the context of “member services”. As a step towards understanding the needs of our members When I was President of INFORMS (our United States-based better, the IFORS Administrative Committee will be doing a society) 15 years ago, a major theme of my presidency was series of breakfasts at major OR conference (EURO, INFORMS, examining why people joined societies and what services a and CLAIO this year). On a personal level, I am eager to meet society should provide to encourage membership. The year with the various societies during my travels over the next 2002 was a year in which membership in INFORMS continued years. I can’t promise to get to all 52 member countries, but I to decline, and some worried that this was a harbinger of am going to try to visit as many as I possibly can! the death of operations research. In retrospect, nothing could be further from the truth with many societies showing The second group that we need to provide services for are recent increases in membership, not least due to the rise of those in operational research without a national society. We “analytics”. But spending time thinking about members and know that OR is everywhere, so IFORS should play an active their needs was a good thing to do. During that retrospection, role in encouraging the development of OR communities we identified services that we lacked and services that were where none currently exist. There are 193 members of the mispriced. By concentrating on the members, INFORMS United Nations which means IFORS has at least 141 members became, I believe, a society more relevant to its membership. to go. What does it mean for IFORS to consider member services? These are great times for operational research. There While some IFORS services are aimed at the 30,000 members is increased interest in our field, and those whose skills of our membership, I do believe we need to think more about encompass OR and analytics are increasingly successful. what we offer two distinct groups. The first is the membership IFORS can play a strong role in a corresponding success for itself: how is IFORS helping the national societies and regional operational research societies, both existing and those to groupings be stronger? What services are we offering that come. make it clear why a society should be a member of IFORS? How Views from an Outgoing Immediate Past President Dominique de Werra <[email protected]> The value of an Immediate Past President (IPP) decreases the active presence of IFORS to extremely fast with the passing of years: it takes only the world and developing the three years to become a PPP (Posthumous Past President). practice of OR in countries in Nevertheless, before leaving the boat, I would like to take which its use was not a standard this opportunity to express some views on IFORS, without matter. We are grateful to him forgetting that experience is like a toothbrush, not very useful and to the entire AC for having for others since each one prefers his own. performed one of the major tasks of our Federation: be actively One of the most important tasks of an IPP is to chair the TOP present in countries where OR Club (Three Old Presidents) in charge of proposing nominees has to be promoted. for the positions of IFORS President and Vice President. I can proudly claim that our hard work with Tom Magnanti and Changing every third year, Elise del Rosario yielded a bumper harvest, as Mike Trick and the AC has to guarantee some Luciana Buriol accepted to be candidates for IFORS President continuity in its actions, which and IFORS Vice President, respectively. Subsequently elected, may be a challenge, in particular when setting its priorities. they start this year to be in charge of the destiny of the Until now, this seems to have worked out in a satisfactory Federation. I am sure that they will rise to the challenge of way and there is no reason why this would not be possible leading IFORS amid the many challenges and changes facing in the near future. I recall with gratitude the essential role us. of the IFORS secretary and the treasurer in ensuring that all transitions occur with smoothness and a reasonable level of The new IPP Nelson Maculan has conducted the Federation continuity even as changes and improvements of the new during the last three years with efficiency while extending team are adopted. P. 2 • IFORS NEWS March 2016 Among the important areas of our Federation I would rank serve well the young participants looking for inspiration for education as first! During my years in the AC, I have repeated at their work. So the ITLs will definitely be part of the efforts every opportunity that IFORS must help its member societies of IFORS to encourage both students/newcomers and in spreading the knowledge of OR.