IISE Operations Research (or) Division Undergraduate Student Research Dissemination competition

Sponsored by University of Missouri, Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering and Clemson University, Industrial Engineering Department.

This award recognizes scholarly work as well as ability to communicate results effectively from an undergraduate student or student teams. This award will encourage more participation from undergraduates in research and in division-level activities. Furthermore, since the award includes a presentation to decide the winner, students are encouraged to improve both their written and technical presentation skills. Engagement will encourage student members to become regular members beyond graduation.

Application Process

  • The application process will consist of a paper followed by a presentation. The first author of the paper must be an undergraduate student at the time of submission, and though the work may contain faculty authors, it must be predominantly the work of a student or student team. Graduate student co-authors are also encouraged. 
  • The paper must present original research, the research must have been conducted while the applicant was a student, and the paper must not have won or been considered for an award in another competition.
  • The application process will follow the timeline of the proceedings paper submissions: When applicants submit their proceeding abstract they must email the committee chair, Dr. Weijun Xie, requesting that their paper be considered for the award. Then they submit their proceeding paper through the usual ISERC process.
  • Finalist students must attend the 2025 IISE Annual Conference & Expo, May 31 - June 3, Atlanta, Georgia, to participate in the finals.

Please read the paper evaluation guidelines

Important Dates (Deadlines)

  • Abstract submissions are due November 17, 2024
  • Abstract decisions will be made by December 15, 2024
  • Full paper submissions are due February 9, 2025
  • Notification on full paper decisions are due March 9, 2025
  • Winners/Finalists will be notified by March 15, 2025
  • Speaker registration deadline:  March 23, 2025
  • Paper final revision submission deadline:  March 31, 2025

Committee Chair

Dr. Weijun Xie

Conflict of Interest Policy

  • Societies and divisions must follow standard conflict of interest guidelines. Those guidelines include, but are not limited to:
  • Officers and Board members of the S/D should be ineligible for awards during the period of their service, without approval by the Senior VP for Technical Operations (SVP). Exceptions may only be made by the SVP when awards are time sensitive (i.e., a Student Best Paper Award for a Student Board Member, when the student is graduating), and the impacted board member(s) or officer(s) must recuse themselves from the award process. For awards that are not time-sensitive, the nominee should wait until their Officer or Board service is complete to be nominated.
  • The awards committee (or judging committee) should not include members who have either a personal or professional relationship with the nominees. For example, a faculty member should not be judging a paper competition where a student from the same university is a nominee for best student paper award.
  • The awards committee (or judging committee) should actively change its membership on a rotating basis from year to year to ensure fairness, equity, and diversity. That is, some members of the judging committee should roll off the committee and new members should roll on.

2024 Winners

1st Place:
Iris Layadi
Purdue University
"Contracting for Referral Coordination in a Tiered Service Network via Pareto Optimization"

2nd Place:
Barkın Ekiz
Bilkent University
"Finding Risk Aware, Equitably Efficient Benefit Allocations"

3rd Place:
Ray Wood
University of Missouri
"A Mixed Integer Programming Approach to Enhancing Throughput and Reducing Production Costs of Manufacturing Eco-Friendly Hair Extensions"

Past winners

Operations Research Division page

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