Prestigious UPS George D. Smith Prize for mathematics master TU/e

April 5, 2022

The international education award is seen as one of the most important in industrial and applied mathematics.

Entrance to the department of Mathematics and Computer Science
Entrance to the department of Mathematics and Computer Science

The department of Mathematics and Computer Science has been awarded the 2022 UPS George D. Smith Prize for its master’s program Industrial and Applied Mathematics (IAM). The prestigious prize, which is awarded by INFORMS, the leading international association for operations research professionals, recognizes excellence in preparing students to become practitioners in this field.

Announcing the award, INFORMS praises IAM for “its unparalleled efforts to educate the next generation of leaders in the field of operations research and analytics. Their unrelenting work has undoubtedly helped to strengthen the ties between academia and industry.”

Pioneers

TU/e has always played a pivotal role in operations research and analytics, with pioneers like Edsger Dijkstra and Jacques Benders. Over the past 20 years TU/e has offered a special master program dedicated to this important field, with at present 161 students taking part.

The program, one of the five provided by the department of Mathematics and Computer Science, aims to prepare students to become experts in tackling and solving problems in technology and industry from a mathematical perspective.

“IAM is one of few mathematics programs in the Netherlands with a distinct applied signature”, says Alessandro Di Bucchianico, director of the program. “It gives flexibility to students to develop themselves not only as a researcher, but also as an industrial engineer or a professional in education.”

Alessandro Di Bucchianico
Alessandro Di Bucchianico

Collaboration with industry

The master’s program benefits greatly from the unique ecosystem of high-tech companies located in Eindhoven. Collaboration with industry starts from the first semester of academic education and continues well after graduation. Being located in the Brainport region also offers graduates career opportunities that are not possible elsewhere.

“We are honored to receive the UPS George D. Smith Prize from INFORMS,” says Di Bucchianico. “It’s a tribute to our department, to our students and to all those behind the scenes that have made our school worthy of this award.”

About INFORMS

With over 12,500 members from around the globe, INFORMS is the leading international association for professionals in operations research, analytics, management science, economics, behavioral science, statistics, artificial intelligence, data science, applied mathematics, and other relevant fields.

Named in honor of the late UPS Chief Executive Officer, 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.

The prize was presented to associate professor Maria Vlasiou and IAM-alumna Anke Simons  during a ceremony at the annual INFORMS Business Analytics Conference in Houston, Texas.

More information

Are you interested in enrolling for this award-winning master? Check out the homepage of Industrial and Applied Mathematics. Or check out this video in which we presented the master to the jury of the UPS George D. Smith Prize.

 

Media contact

Henk van Appeven
(Communications Adviser)

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