Introduction: The 2009 Daniel H. Wagner Prize for Excellence in Operations Research Practice

Abstract

CPMS, the Practice Section of INFORMS, strives to support OR/MS practitioners by publicizing OR/MS success stories and by connecting professionals with similar interests. We are therefore pleased to present the results from the 2009 competition for the Daniel H. Wagner Prize for Excellence in Operations Research Practice, established in memory of the late Dr. Daniel H. Wagner. Dan Wagner earned his PhD in mathematics from Brown University in 1951. His dissertation, “On free products of groups,” was published in Transactions of the American Mathematical Society in 1957. Dr. Wagner began his career in the US Navy’s Operations Evaluation Group (OEG) at the Pentagon, where he worked on operations research for naval warfare. He worked there until 1956, with a one-year leave of absence for postdoctoral research on free algebras at MIT. Dan then joined Burroughs Research Center, where he directed a group of mathematicians performing analysis for the development of digital computers. In 1957, Dan’s entrepreneurial spirit took over, and together with Dr. John D. Kettelle, he formed the partnership of Kettelle and Wagner, which was dissolved in 1963. That same year, he formed a new company, Daniel H. Wagner Associates, Inc. This company did leading-edge work in the mathematics of naval tactics, especially antisubmarine warfare, detection theory, and search planning. During his years as president and principal owner of Wagner Associates, Dan brought many highquality mathematicians into the operations research community. This led to significant advances in the firm’s fields of endeavor and delivery of significant applications to the Navy, Coast Guard, and other clients; many of these applications are still in service today. After retirement from his eponymous company, Dan continued his commitment to the field of operations research, serving in various teaching and research positions with the US Naval Postgraduate School and the US Naval Academy. He was an active member of ORSA, and then INFORMS, for more than 40 years. The idea for this prize began at Dan’s memorial service in April 1997, where many of his former colleagues gathered. Following the agreements made on that day and the subsequent pledges, the firms Metron, Inc., Daniel H. Wagner Associates, Inc., and Applied Mathematics, Inc., generously donated a total of $51,000 as an endowment to ensure the availability of a cash award in perpetuity. Each of these companies is an outgrowth in large part of Dan’s early efforts. Metron, Inc. (President and COO Tom Corwin, http://www.metsci.com) is a scientific consulting company dedicated to solving challenging problems in national defense through the development and application of advanced mathematical methods. Problem solutions are realized using computer software with graphical interfaces that allow a user to understand and act on the results without having to comprehend the intricacies of the models themselves.