Edward H. Kaplan Honored with INFORMS Writing Award

Edward H. Kaplan, the William N. and Marie A. Beach Professor of Management Sciences at the Yale School of Management, professor of public health at the Yale School of Medicine, and professor of engineering at the Yale School of Engineering and Applied Science, has earned the 2010 Expository Writing Award of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS).

The award honors an operations researcher whose publications demonstrate a consistently high standard of expository writing. The award committee praised Kaplan as “a prolific and influential author, renowned for his ability to communicate complex ideas in a style that is simultaneously accessible to a wide audience and is lucid in explaining mathematical ideas and policy implications.” They added, “Consequently, his writing has had great practical impact."

Kaplan’s articles "Let the Needles do the Talking! Evaluating the New Haven Needle Exchange" and “A Circulation Theory of Needle Exchange” were cited as examples of his skill in combining data, models, analysis, policy, and implementation, while others, including “Needle Exchange or Needless Exchange?” and “Nature Plays with Dice – Terrorists Do Not" (pdf), were highlighted as examples of his writing style which “reflects his unique charm and wit in writing about often sober, always important subjects."

The award will be presented at the INFORMS Annual Meeting on November 7 in Austin, Texas.

Kaplan is a past recipient of the INFORMS Philip McCord Morse Lectureship Award (2009) for his pioneering contribution to the field of operations research and the management sciences; the Koopman Prize (2003 and 2005) for the outstanding publication in military operations research; the Fellow Award (2005) for significant contributions to the advancement of operations research and the management sciences; the President’s Award (2002) for contributions to the welfare of society; the Frederick W. Lanchester Prize (1994) for the best published work in OR/MS; and the Franz Edelman Award (1992) for outstanding practice.

The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences is an international scientific society dedicated to applying scientific methods to help improve decision-making, management, and operations.