INFORMS President, 2014
Stephen M. Robinson was the 20th President of INFORMS. During his term as INFORMS President he continued with the integration of analytics into INFORMS. He saw this integration as part of a long-term evolution, with traditional operations research at the core of INFORMS’ mission, analytics connecting this core to problems in industry and government, then the integration of additional problem-solving disciplines in the application of systems analysis to the most difficult and complex problems that society faces. He also worked to strengthen INFORMS’ global connections with agencies such as the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis.
He is Professor Emeritus of Industrial and Systems Engineering and of Computer Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, on whose faculty he served during 1972-2007, and he also holds the rank of Colonel (Retired) in the Army of the United States. His research specialty is in variational analysis and optimization. He is author, co-author, or editor of seven books and more than 100 scientific research papers, which have appeared in Mathematics of Operations Research, Management Science, Operations Research, Mathematical Programming, SIAM Journal on Numerical Analysis, SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics, SIAM Journal on Optimization,and other journals. He holds the honorary doctor's degree from the University of Zürich, the George B. Dantzig Prize of MPS and SIAM, the John K. Walker Jr. Award of the Military Operations Research Society, and the George E. Kimball Medal of INFORMS. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a National Associate of the National Research Council, a Fellow of INFORMS, and a Fellow of SIAM. Dr. Robinson received the Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1962, the M.S. in Mathematics from New York University in 1963, and the Ph.D. in Computer Sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1971. He also received a diploma upon graduation from the U.S. Army War College in 1986.
His personal research has concentrated on the analysis and computational solution of nonlinear optimization problems, and more recently on the mathematical properties of variational inequalities, which are models of equilibrium useful in many practical applications including transportation planning, economics, and the generation and distribution of electricity.
Dr. Robinson has been involved in a number of INFORMS/ORSA/TIMS activities. He was Treasurer of INFORMS, 2007-2010; Secretary of INFORMS, 2000-2003; a member of the Lanchester Prize Selection Committee 1997-1998 (Chair 1998); ORSA Council member 1991-94; member of the Combined Publications Committee of TIMS and ORSA 1986-93 (Chair, 1991-93: functional equivalent of the present INFORMS Vice President-Publications); Associate Editor of Mathematics of Operations Research 1976-80 and Editor 1981-86; Associate Editor of Operations Research 1974-86; member of the ORSA Nominating Committee 1986; member of the Ad Hoc Committee to form the TIMS Management Science Roundtable 1982. He has also served on many other INFORMS committees.
B.A. 1962, Mathematics, University of Wisconsin; M.S. 1963, Mathematics, New York University; Ph.D. 1971, Computer Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Diploma 1986, U.S. Army War College