Tracks
AI Governance
As AI moves from pilots to production, organizations need practical ways to measure performance and risk while staying ready for governance requirements. This track focuses on real-world methods for balancing security, safety, customer impact, and operational efficiency through the right evaluation and measurement practices. Sessions also cover how to build effective AI governance with clear inventories, leadership support, and streamlined processes that reduce risk while enabling responsible AI adoption.
Governing Trustworthy AI in the Wild West of AI
Speaker: Kevin Raber, Chevron
Measuring AI Performance and Risk in the Real World
Speaker: Patrick Hall, George Washington University School of Business
Analytics + Decision-Making
Decision Analytics is at the forefront of transforming how organizations approach complex challenges and strategic planning. This track focuses on the advanced methodologies and frameworks that support effective decision-making, helping leaders optimize choices in uncertain environments. Gain insights into how analytics can refine decision processes, enhance strategic clarity, and drive impactful outcomes. Whether you’re looking to improve operational efficiency or navigate high-stakes scenarios, this track offers cutting-edge approaches to mastering the art of decision-making in business.
Casualty Flow Simulation with Generative AI: A Decision Support Application for Medical Evacuation Planning
Speaker: Jack Smith, JDSAT, Inc.
Ensure Success with Inventory Analytics by Defining the Right Objective and Metrics
Speaker: Paul Lord, Gartner
Beyond the Model: Three Human Skills That Multiply Data Science & OR Impact
Speaker: Karthik Rajpurohit, Target
Stop (Optimally), Collaborate and Listen: OR Life Lessons
Speaker: Ralph Asher, Data Driven Supply Chain LLC
“Making the Right Move: Strategy Insights from The Price Is Right”
Speaker: Justin Bergner, Gabelli
If You Want to Run a Better {Anything} You Have to Make Better Decisions: The Universal Modeling Framework for Analytical Thinking
Speaker: Warren B. Powell, Optimal Dynamics; Executive-in-Residence, Rutgers Business School
Residential Waste Collection Algorithm Testing
Speaker: Heather Moe, Esri
Analytics Ecosystem
Analytics projects have many moving pieces beyond the models themselves. In this track, we discuss infrastructure, data delivery, data governance, and the rest of the analytics tools and technology stack which support data projects. By using the right kinds of tools and technologies, we can help analytics projects be more reliable and successful. Within this track, industry leaders will explain how engineering, architecture, and data delivery through visualization or other applications complement the models that drive decisions. This track provides a robust survey of the analytics ecosystem.
Retrieval-Augmented Decision Support for the Judiciary: A Domain-Grounded, Explainable Analytics System for Legal Review
Speaker: Matthew A. Lanham, Butler University’s Lacy School of Business
An Ensemble Machine Learning Engine for Predicting Flight Revenue to Enable Dynamic Flight Scheduling at American Airlines: From Concept to Deployment
Speaker: Upasana Raval, American Airlines
Trusted Numbers, Trustworthy Code: Software Engineering Fundamentals for Analytics Professionals
Speaker: Scott Nestler, University of Florida
From Data Chaos to Data Products: How Foundational Infrastructure Accelerates Innovation
Speaker: Animesh Satyam, Amazon Web Services
Dynamic Automated Research Engine for Scalable AI Systems
Speaker: Adi Banerjee, Amazon Web Services
Tidy, Tested, Safe. A Brief Guide for Productionizing Data Science Code
Speaker: Peter Cacioppi, Decision Spot
Analytics in Practice
This track features real-world examples of analytics, O.R., and AI delivering measurable impact in operational settings. Sessions cover how to evaluate and communicate AI ROI, build data foundations and readiness to reduce failure in AI transformations, and connect governance and compliance goals to technical controls that work in practice. Attendees will also hear applied decision intelligence examples, including model orchestration in real-time power systems, and rigorous experimentation approaches for measuring true marketing effectiveness.
Scientific Evaluation on Marketing Effectiveness
Speaker: Qianqian Zhang, Walmart Inc
From Failure to Value: A Practitioner's Guide to Successful AI Transformation
Speaker: Steve Novak, Definian
Decision Intelligence in Power Systems - combining OR, Analytics and AI to balance complex real-time electricity supply chains at scale
Speaker: Apoorv Mathur, Siemens Grid Software
A Sensor-Enabled Decision-Support System for Safe, Efficient, and Sustainable Food Supply for All
Speaker: Haitao Li, University of Missouri - St. Louis
From Tokens to Throughput: Measuring the ROI of AI in Instructional Design
Speaker: Jared Benedict, Integration Innovation, Inc. (i3)
10X Your Business: The Executive Path to Guaranteed AI ROI
Speaker: Hardik Jagda, Proximity
Analytics Leadership
This track brings together visionary analytics leaders to share strategies for success. Leaders will discuss the best practices in guiding teams and organizations through the evolving analytics landscape. The focus will be on aligning analytics initiatives with business goals, fostering ethical practices, and cultivating an innovative analytics culture. Attendees will learn how to leverage new tools, grow their team, and oversee successful execution for long-term success in a data-rich world.
ELIXIR: The Model for Leading Highly Technical Teams
Speaker: Shree Taylor, Elder Research
Turning Data into Oversight: How Analytics Helps Detect and Prevent Fraud, Waste, and Abuse
Speaker: Ken Dieffenbach, Pandemic Oversight
From Signals to Strategy: Leading Predictive Intelligence for Enterprise Customer Success at AWS Scale
Speaker: Jacob Fassler, Amazon Web Services
Selling the Foundation: How to Build Analytics Maturity When Everyone Expects GenAI to Solve World Peace
Speaker: Emmy Smith, Candela Medical
Beyond Optimization: Lessons from Aviation Analytics and Operations Research
Speaker: Stefan E. Karisch, Intrinsic Clarity
From Bottom-Up Experimentation to AI-First Analytics: Building the Leadership Playbook for Scalable GenAI
Speaker: Ali Pilehvar, Realtor.com
What’s Right With You? Leveraging Strengths for Better Performance at Work
Speaker: Amy McDuffie-Blackett, The Career Strategy Group
Analytics Process
Successful analytics projects hinge on a combination of diverse technical and interpersonal skills aligned with organizational goals. When you factor in the significant uncertainty at the outset of these projects, it becomes crystal clear why following a structured process is crucial. In this track, speakers will discuss how the formulation of the problem statement and the selected approach can profoundly influence both the workflow and the ultimate outcomes.
From Forecasts to Decisions: Integrating Ensemble Forecasting and Private LLMs for Global After-Sales Planning
Speaker: Saravanan Venkatachalam, Wayne State University
The Innovation Illusion: When AI-Ready Isn’t Ready for Intelligence
Speaker: Yulia Boozer, Iskratek Consulting
Edelman Competition
Often referred to as “The Nobel Prize” of O.R. and advanced analytics, the Franz Edelman Award Competition attests to the contributions of operations research and analytics in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. Since its inception, cumulative benefits from Edelman finalist projects have topped $419 billion. Edelman finalist teams have improved organizational efficiency, increased profits, brought better products to consumers, helped foster peace negotiations, and saved lives. The purpose of the Franz Edelman Competition is to recognize and reward outstanding examples of operations research, management science, and advanced analytics in practice in the world.
Chewy
The largest online pet retailer and pharmacy in the U.S., Chewy transformed replenishment with a science-driven suite of models at scale. Supported by a custom engineering platform and continuous analytics monitoring, the system corrects unreliable data, accounts for supply uncertainty and honors vendor constraints to optimize purchase orders, safety stock, inventory placement and other replenishment decisions. Verified through causal analysis, the solution improved inventory placement, reduced split shipments and shortened shipping distances. In a thin-margin industry, these gains delivered meaningful financial impact and enhanced customer experience.
Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD), India
DFPD, in partnership with the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) in India and Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, introduced Anna Chakra, an O.R.-based decision support solution, to strengthen India’s Public Distribution System by optimizing state-specific logistics. Its nationwide implementation led to an estimated savings of 2.5 billion Indian rupees (INR) annually and 35% reduction in emissions, contributing to India’s sustainability commitments. Moreover, its deployment and resultant capacity building have fostered efficient planning, expedited delivery and scalable, data-driven improvements, thereby benefiting more than 810 million people, including vulnerable populations. This first-ever nationwide implementation of O.R. in the public sector has created a template framework for a sustainable data-driven decision-making approach that can be scaled up across other departments in India and is ripe for global expansion.
ECCO Shoes
To solve costly, inconsistent manual ordering for retail store replenishment across its vertically integrated global supply chain, ECCO Data & AI developed the Intelligent Auto Replenishment (IAR) solution. A large-scale stochastic mixed-integer program (MIP) optimized replenishment orders for 536 stores in 27 countries in 2025 with a novel “divide and conquer” method. The system automates nearly 300,000 replenishment orders monthly, unifies global inventory management strategy and has reduced key operational costs by 1.09%, translating to several million euros (EUR) in annual savings.
Google
A first-of-its-kind system shifts flexible compute workload in time and across locations to reduce both data center carbon footprint and power infrastructure costs. Designed and deployed by a cross-functional team, the system relies on load forecasting, compute-to-energy modeling, and various linear and discrete optimization methods to ensure effective and robust carbon-aware compute management. Since 2020, the shifting to times and places with low-carbon power resources (like wind and solar) has been active in all data centers across the world, positioning Google as an industry leader in carbon-aware computing.
Microsoft
Microsoft transformed Cloud Supply Chain with the Intelligent Fulfillment Service (IFS), a breakthrough platform that combines machine learning, mathematical optimization, and generative and agentic AI. By automating global shipment planning, IFS cuts cycle times in half and delivers tens to hundreds of millions of dollars in annual savings while helping mitigate tariff exposure. Its large-language model (LLM)-powered assistant, built on the pioneering OptiGuide framework, brings real-time explainability and scenario exploration to planners, reducing fulfillment team workload by 23% and compressing decision cycles from days to minutes.
Nvidia
Formed in 1993 to tackle high performance computing with an initial focus on 3D graphics, Nvidia later expanded into a full stack accelerated computing platform. Nvidia’s platforms have enabled a new generation of computational intelligence from modern artificial intelligence to mathematical optimization. As a firm’s products and services advance, the size and complexity of its demand–supply network (DSN) often expand faster than the capabilities of the original supply chain management (SCM) application suite at the firm. This gap creates a need for “smarter” SCM solutions to avoid instability and loss of responsiveness. Nvidia addressed this challenge by leveraging its own high-performance computing platform to create a powerful synergy between artificial intelligence and operations research, with cuOpt serving as the core optimization engine. The resulting application suite enabled Nvidia to drive stability and responsiveness and has become a critical component of its overall performance.
Frontiers in Analytics
This track explores how emerging technologies are reshaping analytics and O.R., with a focus on quantum computing and agentic, GenAI-enabled decision systems. Speakers will provide practical perspectives on what quantum computing can and cannot do today for optimization, how to evaluate its relevance, and how AI agents can orchestrate models, data, and human judgment into actionable decision workflows. Real-world examples ground these ideas in applied analytics practice.
Agentic Analytics: How AI Agents Turn Insights into Decisions
Speaker: Ananya Ghosh Chowdhury, Microsoft
Quantum Computing and Operations Research (QCOR) Panel discussion
Speaker: Rudy Raymond, JPMorganChase & Co
From Monolithic Models to Decision Ecosystems: Orchestrating Optimization with AI Precision Agents
Speaker: Patricia Randall, Princeton Consultants
QC&OR: Where we are and what to expect - with historic perspectives
Speaker: Tamás Terlaky, President and Co-Founder, Optamo LLC
GenAI
Many organizations struggle to move AI beyond isolated pilots into systems that deliver sustained business value. This track focuses on the economics of scaling AI, from automating and accelerating agent development to executive-level frameworks for making AI investments that pay off. Sessions explore how shifting from manual experimentation to integrated, ROI-driven approaches fundamentally changes the cost, speed, and impact of AI deployment across the enterprise.
Hybrid GenAI and ML for Early Quality Detection Using Repair Order Text with an ever Growing Taxonomy
Speaker: Saha Rimpa, Ford Motor Company
The Next Era in Decision Intelligence: GenAI-Enabled Accelerated Decision Optimization
Speaker: Burcin Bozkaya, NVIDIA Corporation
INFORMS Prizes & Special Sessions
INFORMS grants several prestigious Institute-wide prizes and awards for meritorious achievement each year. This track will feature presentations for the Wagner Prize, INFORMS Prize, and UPS George D. Smith Prize winner. Innovative Applications in Analytics Award (IAAA) finalists will also present. Special sessions include presentations hosted by our Certified Analytics Professional (CAP®) Program and Women in OR/MS.
Leadership Legacy: Growing With Intent & Purpose
Speaker: Jacqueline M. Baker, Scarlet Communications
People Analytics
This track explores how analytics and AI can be applied to understand, support, and improve human systems at work. Sessions examine responsible use of personal data, combining machine learning with expert judgment in high‑stakes decision environments, and building trust between people and models. Topics also include team effectiveness in distributed workplaces, detecting workforce data anomalies, and evolving operating models for people analytics to ensure insights translate into meaningful organizational impact.
The Missing Sensor in Operations: Using AI to Turn Well-Being Data into Predictive Safety Intelligence
Speaker: Serena H. Huang, Data With Serena
Detecting Labor Data Anomalies with Outlier Voting
Speaker: Sandra Davis, Amtrak
Building and Measuring Team Effectiveness in Today's Distributed Work Environments
Speaker: Genetha Gray, Edward Jones
Outsourcing People Analytics: Where It Accelerates Insight—and Where It Breaks It
Speaker: Temi Ariyo, Okta
Responsible AI, Responsible Optimization: Charting the Future of Decisioning
Speaker: Wes Chaar, WesChaar
Smarter Decisions for a Better World
This track showcases how analytics, O.R., and AI can be applied to address critical societal challenges and create positive impact at scale. Sessions highlight decision‑support systems for public health, food safety, biodiversity, civic engagement, and social equity, along with community‑centered approaches to data collection and model development. Speakers emphasize trust, ethics, and human context, demonstrating how better decision‑making systems can improve lives, strengthen institutions, and support a more sustainable and inclusive world.
How Can We Trust AI When We Are Not Sure We Can Trust the Data Scientists That Built It?
Speaker: Jessica Weaver, Mosaic Consulting, LLC
Saving Lives with Forecasts: A Blood Donation Decision Support System (DSS) for Data-for-Good
Speaker: Deepti Bahel, VigourSoft Global Solutions
Innovative Winners: Variation of Technological Innovation and Fitness in Public-Private Partnerships
Speaker: Sophia R.C Lander, The University of Texas at Austin
Ambassadors at Work: Building and Evaluating a Relational Voter Engagement Program
Speaker: Chris Parker, University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business
Debugging Bias: How Catfish & Grits Can Democratize Tech
Speaker: Jade Brown, Humana
Bees as Living Sensors: How Ground-Truthed Biodiversity Analytics Can Restore Nature at Planetary Scale
Speaker: Max Rünzel, HiveTracks
Supply Chain
Supply chain leaders discuss a rapidly transforming ecosystem shaped by a proliferation of data applications for management, logistics, and resiliency. The AI revolution is pushing rapid application of affiliated emerging concepts and technologies across supply chain and logistics. Decision support tools and machine learning technologies are disrupting business and driving new policies, products, services, and channels to increase revenue. During this track, industry leaders will share how they are delivering practical AI solutions to maximize efficiency and minimize business disruption.
AI-Driven Optimization of Raw Material Rail Logistics to Maximize Unloading Throughput in Steel Plants
Speaker: Ramesh Rajagopalan, SetCONNECT
Johnson & Johnson Shipping Cost Simulation and Optimization: A GenAI-Enhanced Logistics Transformation
Speaker: James Bode, Johnson & Johnson
Agentic Fulfillment: Optimizing Speed and Carbon via AI-Powered Delivery and Pickup
Speaker: Nixalkumar Patel, LG Electronics
An Explainable ML Decision Support System for Spare Parts Inventory Management
Speaker: David Bayba, Intel Corporation
The Benefits of Lightweight Algorithms - How Local Search and Simulation Transformed Inventory Positioning at Wayfair
Speaker: Matthew Zalesak, Wayfair
Balancing Long-Lead and Short-Lead Materials to Enable Fast Fashion at Global Scale
Speaker: Lukesh Singla, Nike
Trade Wars and Game Theory: Who Wins, Who Loses?
Speaker: Anna Nagurney, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Technology Showcases
Technology Showcases from participating exhibitors are 50-minute, theater-style sessions that provide educational information and case studies on relevant analytics concepts using their products and services.
