Abstract Deadline Extended to February 12
There is still time to participate in this prestigious international meeting in cosmopolitan Buenos Aires. Click here to submit your abstract. You are also welcome to organize a complete session. Papers will continue to be accepted after the deadline for as long as space is available on the program.

Hotel Reservations Now Online
A full range of three- to five-star hotel accommodations is available through the official conference travel agency, TIP International. Click here for instructions. After clicking on the link to TIP, you can see the listings for all 3- to 5-star hotels in the area and can view a map of hotel locations showing distances to the Law School. After you have reviewed the hotel options, click on "Reservations" and complete the form. This will provide TIP with information about your hotel preference. A representative from TIP will respond to you by e-mail within 48 hours. Note there will not be any shuttle service from hotels to the Law School; however, Buenos Aires taxis are plentiful and very inexpensive.

Welcome Reception & Señor Tango Show
The Welcome Reception on Sunday evening will be held in the majestic Salón de los Pasos Perdidos at the University of Buenos Aires Law School, the perfect venue to meet with colleagues at the beginning of the meeting. The Señor Tango Dinner Show (note that there is a separate charge for this event) on Tuesday features a dinner and spectacular tango show. There are more than 40 artists on stage, accompanied by a traditional tango orchestra. All the latest technology is used during this dazzling show of dance, music, and singing.

Tour Reservations Now Online
Click here to make tour reservations via TIP, the official conference travel agency. Local tours include an exploration of Buenos Aires and nearby attractions, a boat tour to a subtropical rainforest, and a visit to an Argentinean ranch. Regional excursions before and after the meeting include trips to Iguazú Falls, El Calafate in the Patagonian plateau, and Mendoza, famous for Malbec wines.

 

Two Presentation Formats: Talk or Poster/Display
You can submit an abstract to present your work in two formats: a talk as part of a session or as a poster/display presentation as part of an Interactive Session. Talks within a session are typically 15-20 minutes in length, with 4-5 talks in a session. These sessions are scheduled from Sunday through Wednesday, and the scheduling of your talk is determined by the Organizing Committee. Interactive Sessions are scheduled during the middle of the day on Monday and Tuesday; the presentation day for your poster/display is determined by the Organizing Committee. Click here to submit an abstract.

At a time when business executives are finally overcoming their fear of numbers and coming to realize the value of analytics and operations research, many are still feeling their way toward adoption of O.R. consultants and technologies. Mary Crissey, who has been explaining the virtues of operations research first in the US Air Force and now with SAS, puts forward the virtues of O.R. in this nuts-and-bolts podcast for all potential O.R. clients. Hear her at www.scienceofbetter.org/podcast.

 

The Applied Probability Society promotes the application of probability theory for the evaluation, control, and design of systems that involve random phenomena. The Society has several hundred members from diverse disciplines such as engineering, business, computer science, statistics, and mathematics. The Society awards the Erlang Prize for Young Applied Probabilists and a Best Publication in Applied Probability Award in alternate years. It hosts the Markov Lecture at the annual INFORMS conference and organizes a biennial conference whose location alternates between North America and the rest of the world. Their most recent, very successful and well-attended conference was held at Cornell University, and the next one will be held at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm. In an exciting recent development, the Society has started an online open access journal titled Stochastic Systems in conjunction with the Institute for Mathematical Statistics. The journal expects to begin accepting manuscripts soon. Visit the APS website to join the Applied Probability Society.

Febaruary 10, 2010, 6-7pm Wednesday
University of Texas at San Antonio, Loeffler Room, Biosciences Buidling (BSB), room 3.03.02

Mukul Tripathi will speak about Intelligent Decision Support Systems for Manufacturing Management and Human Resource Planning/Forecasting. The discussion will focus on how O.R. models are used in manufacturing and how artificial intelligence is contributing to workforce planning/forecasting. For information, contact Sean Dozier at 210.387.2725 or Mary Crissey at MaryGrace.Crissey@sas.com.

 

Terry Harrison Takes One-Year Term as Pubs VP
Terry Harrison, who served four years as INFORMS Vice President of Publications, has agreed to continue his service with a one-year appointment that was ratified by the INFORMS Board of Directors last week. He returned to his post after personal reasons forced Martin Savelsbergh and David Kelton to decline a term in the post.

Interfaces - New Issue Is Now Available Online (January-February 2010; Vol. 40, No. 1)
This is the Edelman Award Special issue. Read the abstracts, download interesting articles via your subscription, or purchase via pay-per-view. Check out the Table of Contents online.

Marketing Science - First 2010 Issue 
See these articles in the new January-February 2010 issue:

• Alleviating the Constant Stochastic Variance Assumption in Decision Research: Theory, Measurement, and Experimental Test
• A Model for Trade-Up and Change in Considered Brands
• A Larger Slice or a Larger Pie? An Empirical Investigation of Bargaining Power in the Distribution Channel

Go to Subscribe to learn how to add this journal to your subscription or to access all journals for only $99.00.

Management Science - New IOL Website

Visit the new Management Science website under the umbrella of the new INFORMS website content management system, EZ Publish.

Related Publications - Discounted Subscription Rates

INFORMS members received discounted subscription rates to over 30 related publications. These journals cover associated aspects of the operations research/management science profession. They are available for order through the individual publishers. Click on a publisher to view available titles here.

Operations Research Call for Papers: Special Issue on O.R. for the Public Interest

The goal of this special issue is to showcase research that develops sustainable solutions that can improve public welfare. Papers will address four high-impact areas: Energy and Environment, Health Care, Security and Stability, and Critical Infrastructure. For more details, please go to http://or.pubs.informs.org.

Publications Grassroots Efforts - Promote Subscriptions to INFORMS Journals at Your Institution

Please help us expand the reach of your journals. We've developed a process aimed at increasing the presence of INFORMS journals throughout institutions worldwide by encouraging INFORMS members to generate INFORMS journal recommendations. Go to this site and follow two simple steps: The Grassroots Campaign.

Interfaces Call for Papers: Special Issue on Analytics in Sports

Sports-related business activities constitute a multibillion dollar industry in which difficult decision-making problems exist at the strategic, tactical, and operational levels. Fostered by the increasing availability of data and advances in computational power, the use of quantitative analysis to improve decision making in sports has enjoyed growing popularity. In this special issue of Interfaces, we seek to highlight the role of analytics in the sports industry. For more details, please go to the Interfaces site.

Know some colleagues, friends, students, or supervisors who should belong to INFORMS? Please recommend them! We make it very easy for you, and we'll also make it worth your while with great incentives during our 2010 Member-Get-a-Member campaign. The contest ends March 2. Your recommendation is our most effective membership marketing tool!

 

Brought to you by CPMS - the Practice Section of INFORMS - the Wagner Prize presentations are perfect for the classroom to see O.R. in action or for your business to learn from or model. View the presentations here. This is a new member benefit! A brief log-in process is required to view the presentations.

Applications are now being accepted for the 2010 Daniel H. Wagner Prize for excellence in operations research practice. Competition will be held at the 2010 Annual Meeting, November 7-10 in Austin, TX.

If you are an Edelman Laureate (author of an Edelman paper that has appeared or will appear in Interfaces) or represented your organization in the Edelman Academy, you are cordially invited to attend the 2010 Edelman Gala on Monday evening, April 19, 2010, in Orlando, FL, to be formally recognized. Please RSVP to Rafael McFadden in the INFORMS office as soon as possible so we can plan the festivities. The Edelman Gala is part of the INFORMS Conference on O.R. Practice, April 18-20, 2010, in Orlando. Registration is required.

 

The Franz Edelman Award is INFORMS' most prestigious practice prize, and in recent years, it has become its highest-profile event: At every spring practice meeting, it is marked by a tightly fought contest before eminent judges and cameras, streaming video of the awards on www.scienceofbetter.org and YouTube websites, and a festive gala whose stage is shared with the INFORMS Prize and Wagner Prize winners. One Fortune 500 executive expressed astonishment that a small society such as INFORMS could mount a fête of this grandeur. Your organization can share in the excitement by underwriting the Edelman Gala. Become an Executive, Champion, or Sustainer Sponsor and give the best operations research practitioners their evening of glory.

Contact INFORMS Director of Communications Barry List (barry.list@informs.org, 443-757-3500, 1-800-4INFORMs) to reserve your sponsorship before the February 18 deadline. Sponsorship benefits are below.

Executive Level - $5,000
All the recognition features listed below for the Champion and Sustainers' levels, PLUS these exclusive benefits:

• A full-page ad in the new INFORMS magazine Analytics.
• Special seating at the 2010 Edelman Gala for two members of your organization.
• Complimentary registration for two members of your organization to attend the 2010 INFORMS Practice Meeting and the 2010 INFORMS Annual Meeting.
• Complimentary INFORMS 2010 membership for two members of your organization.
• A complimentary 2009 Franz Edelman DVD and exclusive early access to the 2010 Edelman presentations via streaming video.
• A complimentary 2009 INFORMS Annual Meeting Tutorial CD, containing concise explanations of important new research.
• A free online subscription to the INFORMS suite of 12 scholarly journals in the management science and analytic fields.

Champion Level - $2,500
All the recognition features listed below for the Sustainers' level, PLUS these exclusive benefits:

• A full-page advertisement in the Edelman Ceremony Program Book. This 80-page keepsake book is distributed to the 500+ people attending the gala, and, next year, to the 2011 Edelman teams. The book salutes the 2010 teams as well as the many organizations that received Edelman honors in previous years.
• Sponsorship recognition at the Edelman Honors Reception. This by-invitation VIP event is held immediately before the Awards Ceremony to honor the current year's and past years' Edelman finalists and winners.
• An opportunity for your organization's representative to welcome honorees and guests to the Edelman Honors Reception.

Sustainers' Level - $1,000

• Organization logo included in a full-page advertisement acknowledging Edelman Gala sponsors in OR/MS Today, the INFORMS professional magazine with a readership of 14,000.
• High-level recognition of your organization during the Edelman Gala. Your organization's logo will be featured as part of the ceremony slide presentation, with verbal acknowledgement by the master of ceremonies.
• Acknowledgement with your logo in a full-page tribute to sponsors in the Edelman Ceremony Program book.
• Your logo prominently displayed on signage at the ceremony.
• Organization logo on the Edelman Competition & Gala page of the Practice Conference website.
• Organization logo on the Edelman Competition page of the "Science of Better" website.