Northwestern Engineering’s Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences (IEMS) has been named a finalist for the 2026 UPS George D. Smith Prize.

Awarded by INFORMS (Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences), the prize recognizes excellence in preparing students to become practitioners of operations research and analytics. The other finalists are the Georgia Institute of Technology and the US Military Academy.

The winner will be announced April 13 at the 2026 Analytics+ conference in National Harbor, Md. Past winners include the National University of Singapore (2025), the University of South Carolina (2024), Purdue University (2023), and Eindhoven University of Technology (2022).

“Being named a finalist for the UPS George D. Smith Prize affirms our commitment to bridging rigorous analytical foundations with the real-world complexity of modern decision-making,” said Simge Küçükyavuz, Chair and David A. and Karen Richards Sachs Professor of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences. “As operations research continues to converge with AI and data science, IEMS is proud to be at the forefront of preparing the next generation of practitioners.”

IEMS was recognized for integrating operations research with emerging fields like AI and data science, spanning undergraduate students, PhD students, and students enrolled in the Master of Engineering Management or Machine Learning and Data Science programs. Built on a strong computational core and strengthened by industry-focused, hands-on learning, the program centers on using data and analytical models to drive decision-making across sectors such as finance, healthcare, logistics, and technology.

INFORMS is the world’s largest association for professionals and students in operations research, AI, analytics, data science, and related fields, working to advance best practices and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration.

Read the INFORMS announcement.