Rice University’s Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) Student Chapter has won the institute’s Magna Cum Laude Student Chapter Annual Award for its excellence in chapter operations, activities and service.
The INFORMS Student Chapter at Rice was formed in 2023 by then-senior in operations research Bayzhan Mukatay ’25 and is now led by president Daniel Suarez Aguirre ’25, also a senior in operations research. Andrew Schaefer, Noah Harding Chair and Professor of Computational Applied Mathematics and Operations Research, is the chapter advisor.
“This is a tremendous feat for a young and, most importantly, an undergraduate-led chapter competing against graduate-led chapters,” said Illya Hicks, Trustee Professor and Department Chair of Computational Applied Mathematics and Operations Research. “It speaks to our excellent students and the quality of the department, inspiring these young researchers in operations research.”
This award recognizes the chapter’s accomplishments during its inaugural year. In January 2024, the chapter launched a DecisionLab that facilitates student-led projects related to optimization, simulation, AI, and other quantitative methods to solve real-world problems. Thirty students participated in the first cohort, designing advanced scheduling software, an itinerary optimization platform, and more.
The chapter also hosted a collaborative session with the Houston INFORMS chapter exploring industrial applications for operations research, featuring a panel of experts from Amazon, Delta Airlines, Energy Trading Analytics, Accenture and ExxonMobil. Additionally, the chapter hosts events on campus to raise awareness of opportunities for graduate studies in operations research.
Operations research is a quickly growing industry, and the INFORMS Student Chapter at Rice helps prepare students for success in careers in this field. “[The chapter’s accomplishments] coincide with the growth of operations research as a recognized profession,” said Hicks. “The US Bureau of Labor Statistics stated a projected growth in operations research analyst jobs of 23% between 2023 and 2033, much faster than the average growth.”
The chapter formally received the award at the INFORMS annual meeting in Seattle, WA., Oct. 20-23, 2024.