INSIDE

ANNIVERSARY EDITION SEPTEMBER 2023

CELEBRATING 75 YEARS OF OPERATIONAL RESEARCH

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President’s Article

Let’s leave a legacy!

GILBERT OWUSU, ORS PRESIDENT 2023-2024

A
s we commence the celebrations marking
the 75th anniversary of our society, it is only
fitting that we reflect on our remarkable
journey so far and prepare ourselves to
embrace the promising opportunities
that lie ahead. The Operational Research
Society (ORS) has a rich history that dates to the early 20th
century and the British Army. The primarily objective then
was to apply scientific and analytical methods to military
operations and decision-making during the second world war.
After the war, the OR Club was formed in 1948 to provide a
platform for knowledge exchange amongst OR professionals.
Subsequently, in 1953, the ORS was established, recognizing
the importance of operational research and its broader
applications beyond the military domain.
The enduring influence and impact of operational research
on decision-making are evident in every aspect of our lives.
Throughout our history, the UK has witnessed the incredible
impact of OR in decision making across government,
industry, the third sector and in academia. In government
policy-making, OR techniques has consistently influenced
critical decisions — from models that that revolutionized
warfare strategy in the second world war to challenges
related infrastructure build, economics and sustainability.
More recently, OR techniques were instrumental in shaping
responses to the Covid-19 pandemic, encompassing crucial
aspects such modelling the spread of the virus, supply chain
optimization, and vaccination scheduling.
Our legacy embraces an interdisciplinary approach,
acknowledging the necessity of combining “soft” and “hard”
models supported by rigorous research for effective decision-
making. We are home to both academics and practitioners,
encouraging fruitful collaboration between domain experts
and industry professionals. Industries and the non-profit
sector have experienced the advantages of employing OR
techniques in their daily operations and strategic planning.
My personal involvement with OR began during my
undergraduate studies, where I was introduced to Soft
Systems Methodology in my second year. Later, during my
postgraduate studies, I delved into other OR methods such as
optimization and simulation. OR continues to be an integral
part of my current role, playing a pivotal role in my
day-to-day work.
Not so long ago, we had OR departments in most big
organisations. However, the landscape has changed. These
departments have been rebranded as Analytics and have
further evolved into what is now commonly known as Data
Science or AI. Despite the name changes, the techniques
and tools employed remain strikingly similar at their core.
OR, it seems is a well-kept secret. At the start of the year, I
introduced my thoughts for my presidential term in a leader
article for “Inside OR”. It was entitled ‘Powered by OR’.
Part of it dealt with our developing relationship with AI.
I would like us to use the 75th anniversary celebration as
the springboard to underline the crucial role of Operational
Research (OR) in facilitating effective decision-making. A
fitting legacy of our 75th anniversary would be that at some
point ‘operational research’ must inevitably transition from a
term in constant danger of being considered obsolete into a
term that is timeless. We should all champion this and help
cement OR into the lexicon of every business and institution.
I would finish by paying tribute to all those who have
contributed to our journey. We wouldn’t have come this
far without the unwavering passion, selfless dedication,
and professionalism of our volunteers. To every committee
member, mentor, and advocate of OR across the country,
thank you for your invaluable contributions. We are well
positioned to exploit the opportunities ahead — from
exploring new revenue streams, enhancing our membership
offering, providing the modelling rigour for assuring AI
models, to playing a pivotal role in the formation of the
Academy of Mathematical Sciences. As we venture into the
next chapter of our journey, I am confident that our combined
endeavours will continue to shape the future of OR research
and practice. Thank you all for being an integral part of our
remarkable journey and may the OR Society continue to
amplify its relevance for many more decades to come!

About InsideOR
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www.theorsociety.com copy is distributed. Copyright © 2022 by The OR Society.

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CONTENTS
Editorial President’s Article: Let’s leave a legacy 2
Editorial 3

Editorial
Leader
75 Years of The OR Society: Past,
Present and Future 4-5

SEPTEMBER 2023 News and Features

JOHN CROCKER, FORS

I
OR Journalist for 27 years 6
75 Volumes of the Journal 7-8
n 1948, a small group of men (alas, no women) met to
form a private members club. Their raison d’etre was The OR Club and our survival after
to promote a little known branch of the military that World War II 9
had proved of great value during WWII and which, Crossword Puzzle 10
they thought, could help British business recover
after that conflict. In 1953, membership was opened Archive collection of OR Newsletters 11
to “[anyone] engaged in some form of operational research How OR helped to save Britain
whether or not it is so called”. (see various articles by Nigel during World War II 12
Cummings and John Medhurst)
The HumOR Column 13

Patrick Blackett, the person who had done most to make Celebrating 75 years of
OR successful was, as far as records relate, not present. operational research 14
Unlike Blackett, Philip Morse, his US Navy counterpart, ISMOR 40th Birthday 15
recognised “Operations Research” (as it was called in the US)
as a potential university discipline and did much to get it The ORS throughout the years 16-17
established as such. This task, in the UK, fell to Patrick Rivett Training with the OR Society 18-19
almost ten years later.
Volunteering with the OR Society 20-21
Jumping 58 years on, Gavin Blackett (apparently no relation) WORAN 22
was appointed General Manager / Company Secretary OR Link to Quantum Navigation 23
/ Executive Director in 2006 and has done wonders in
bringing the Operational Research Society into the Twenty- Membership 24
first Century and now after 17 years, he too has moved on OR in Education 25
to IFORS and been succeeded by Seb Hargreaves (see this
SIGs 26
month’s leader).
Thank you to our members and
Volume 75 of the Journal of the Operational Research Society crossword answers 27
( JORS) will be published next year. Originally published
Prople of faith and AI 28
as the Operational Research Quarterly (ORQ) by the OR
Society, and then in 1958 by the Pergamon Press and most Pro Bono OR: 10 years in 29
recently by Taylor & Francis this provides the Society with a History of Blackett 30
very healthy percentage of its income making possible most
of the activities in which it is currently involved (see Graham The Transformative Role of AI in
Rand’s article). Operational Research 31

The Society has long been involved in providing essential

courses on all aspects of Operational Research from a
basic introduction through to advanced courses in various
techniques, methods and methodologies. Today, those courses
are ably managed by Jennie Phelps (see also the articles by
Martin Keys and Martin Parr).
Somewhat more recently, the ORS has ventured into the
realms of Pro Bono – basically providing a free consultancy
service to charities looking to make significant improvements
to various aspects of their organisations. This work also
provides valuable hands on experience to new graduates, in
particular. (see Evelyn Hardy’s article)
OR is still a major player in the country’s defence and this
year saw the 40th conference under the banner of ISMOR –
International Symposium on Military Operational Research –
for more about this historic event see Noel Corrigan’s article.
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Over the years, many special interest groups have come and
some, alas, have gone. Several of these have even generated
new journals alongside JORS (see Rob Wallace’s article).
Looking to the future, where will operational research and
the Operational Research Society be in, say, twenty-five
years for its centenary? One thing I am reasonably confident
about is that I shall not be editing InsideOR. As with our
courses, many of our meetings are now online. This has
proved particularly successful with committees, particularly
those with international members. OR has been established
as an essential discipline for improving the productivity and
profitability of organisations of all shapes and sizes. It is
also an essential discipline for solving many of the World’s
problems from pandemics to climate change, but whether this
will be done by Operational Researchers remains to be seen.
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75 Years of The OR Society: Past, Present and Future

75 Years of The
OR Society: Past,
Present and Future
GAVIN BLACKETT & SEB HARGREAVES, IMMEDIATE PAST & CURRENT
EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS, THE OR SOCIETY

A
s we begin our 75th anniversary celebrations,
through this special issue of InsideOR we
wanted to reflect on operational research
and explore its significance in the UK,
but the focus of this article will be the
Operational Research Society itself, the
membership body that has championed the field, helped shape
its development over the years and continues to represent the
interests of its members and the wider OR community.

The breakdown between past, present and future is one that

you’ll see repeatedly through this year of celebrations. The
definition of ‘future’ is pretty clear-cut, although the argument
could arise over what timeframe we might consider; the next
12 months, five years or 25 years? Later in this article, Seb,
as the current holder of the Secretary & General Manager /
Executive Director post, will give some thought as to what
the future of the Society might hold and what challenges will
need to be faced. In the meantime, Seb’s predecessor, Gavin,
will deal with the story of the Society up to the present time.

The differentiation between past and present here is somewhat

arbitrary. We could think about the present as my stint in
the S&GM / ED role, from 2006 to 2023, but even the
differences between the start of that spell and the end are
quite considerable. One thing is certain – there’s too much to
mention in the coming paragraphs, so apologies if something
you think is important is overlooked!
As you can’t fail to have seen elsewhere in this issue, the OR
Club was first formed in 1948, initially as a private members
club. It transformed into the Society some five years later
when it became altogether more open. The membership
numbers in 1954 broke through the 100 barrier and they
continued to rise rapidly through the 60s as OR established
itself as a recognised field of study and employment. The 1950s
saw the expansion into and beyond nationalised industries
and the establishment of the first Masters course lead to the
initial moves of industrial pioneers into academia, thereby
setting the pattern for future membership with a strong mix of
academics and practitioners, something that we’re still proud
of today. The late 1950s also saw the formation of IFORS,
the International Federation of OR Societies (something
close to my heart now!). The UK was one of the founding
members alongside France and the USA. Sir Charles Goodeve
first held the title of Secretary, but I suspect he was rather
more presidential. The secretarial support during the initial
formation and growth of the Society, whomever undertook
them, must have been very different from today.
The 1960s saw an explosion in membership numbers, breaking
1000 in 1963, 2000 in 1966 and reaching 3000 in 1969. The
still-recognisable activities of the journal and conferences
continued to grow and establish themselves as core to the
Society’s work. We can still look back to reports in both the
journal and the newsletter to get a glimpse into what these
entailed. In terms of administering Society matters it’s hard
to get a true feeling for the pace, driven entirely by postal
communications. Membership numbers plateaued through
the 1970s, despite this often being described as the golden
era for OR. It certainly must have been easier for the Society
staff, with just about every organisation of a notable size

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75 Years of The OR Society: Past, Present and Future

employing OR people, with those jobs being labelled as OR,

and collected together as the company’s OR group. Definitely
easier to identify and contact new entrants to the profession.

The 1980s and 1990s saw a number of significant events that

changed the Society’s operations, hopefully for the better.
The publishing industry became increasingly commercialised
in the late 1980s, and when the Society signed a contract
with Macmillan in 1988 (taking over from Pergamon),
its income jumped from close to £10k up to £100k. Since
then, the Society has used this source of income to fund the
vast majority of its activities. Repeated improvements to
contractual arrangements saw the income from publications
peak at over £1m last year.

Insightful investing of the Society’s reserves during this

period grew them enough to enable us to move from rented
accommodation into the Society’s own offices in the 90s,
providing a suitable home for the Society’s staff, meetings and
training courses.

This period also saw the business world and the Society enter
the electronic era. The Society was an early adopter of both
a website and email as a means of communication. Near
instantaneous communications must have transformed the
Society’s activities and administration. The arrival of micro-
computers and the explosion of computing power had a huge
impact on the wider world of OR. It also signalled the start of
a change in the nature of the relationship between the Society
and the volunteers that helped run it.
During the previously mentioned ‘golden era of OR’, working
practices meant members had time to give to the governance
of the Society – attending meetings and working on follow-up
activities. The 2000s saw more pressure on members, limiting
the time they were able to devote to the Society. This meant
that the nature and size of the Society’s staff had to change.
Over the decade from roughly 2008 to 2018, the Society’s staff
doubled in size and took on much more than admin matters,
taking responsibility for driving new initiatives.
changing landscapes and emerging technologies. Embracing
technology ourselves will allow us to provide a more tailored
and bespoke membership experience. This is important in a
competitive environment where there are many demands on
people’s time and resources.
How we all engage, access and consume services and content
is changing from a traditional ‘one size fits all’ approach to
being more personalised and on-demand in nature. By
harnessing digital tools and offering a blended approach
of in person and online content will help us to meet the
expectations of members, provide appropriate support and
enable us to stay relevant.

So far, this article has failed to mention two almost ever-
present issues for the Society – the various challenges it has
faced and, more particularly, that of its name (and of the
profession). The name ‘operational research’ has never been
ideal, but it’s always been judged as the best we’ve got. The
pressure to consider changing it has never been greater than
in recent years. The Society has worked really hard to present
itself as still highly relevant during the growth in analytics,
data science and most recently, AI, but will that always be
the case?
So, to the future of the Operational Research Society as a
membership organisation and learned society. Remaining
relevant to our community and providing a value proposition
that attracts and retains members will remain a key challenge.
As the broad church of operational research continues to
evolve, terminology and methodologies change, we must stay
abreast of these developments, by recognising and adapting to
We will always be the home of Operational Research, but
whether this umbrella term remains fit for purpose is a
question that we will need to revisit. A name that describes
the various disciplines of our mathematical science which
reflects the terminology that our students and Universities
are now using to describe what they do is important for us to
stay connected with the future pipeline of those entering or
engaged in the science of better decision making.
Changes to publishing with the wider adoption of open access
will continue to change the balance of revenue for the Society.
We will continue to diversify income streams and seek out
new and innovative projects and initiatives to best meet the
needs of our community, achieve our vision and mission and
retain a sustainable financial position for the longer term.
Embracing these opportunities will enable the society to
remain vibrant, visible and valued for the next 75 years and
hopefully beyond.

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OR Journalist for 27 years

OR Journalist for 27
years – what makes
me tick?
NIGEL CUMMINGS

From a background running family businesses involving

real estate and hospitality venues, I faced a duality of career
diversion when I decided to move on and begin a life
in business.

Would I commence a career in optical element design

(quite a lot of maths) or continue with a fledgling interest in
journalism (specialising in science and computing), which
had already shown reward and scope for more reward, than
optical engineering?

Journalism won, and I underwent two years of ‘fast track’

re-training with the now defunct VNU Business Press, Soho
London, whilst juggling my other work interests and much
spare time training up managers to oversee family businesses.

My re-training at VNU gave access to all departments from
roles scheduling the courier department there, to devising
advertising campaigns for the popularisation of computer
publishing periodicals, for consumers and computing
professionals worldwide. An early 70’s interest in computer
programming saw me adding ‘machine code’ listings for
VNU magazine readers, to assemble and reassemble to
their heart’s delight.
The final stage for me at VNU was to provide special projects
management, where I undertook to develop cover mounted
software disks across a wide range of computing platform
publications. My interest in science never waned during this
time though, neither did my interest in optics.
One day, spending a lunchbreak walking around London’s
Piccadilly, I came across the Trocadero centre, part of which
was hosting an exhibition of holography. There I saw work
from Denis Gabor, the father of holography, and work by my
inspirational influencer, the much-published Graham Saxby,
who had a career in photography with the Royal Air Force,
including seven years as an officer commanding Photographic
Science Flight at the RAF Joint School of Photography.
Afterwards, Saxby joined the University of Wolverhampton,
teaching educational technology to trainee teachers and,
his enthusiasm for holography led him to build his own
holography laboratory there. (Saxby inspired me to experiment
in coherent and bifringent light wave study at certain
wavelengths applicable to confocal microscopy –
but I digress.)
Saxby and Gabor’s work helped combine my career
experiences of computing, science, optics and publishing, into
one cohesive focus. My first foray into this cohesion, was to
persuade VNU publishers to consider launching holographic
magazine covers, afforded by a technology which had been
developed, which allowed the ‘printing’ of holograms on foiled
paper – a medium excellent to produce magazine front covers.
My work done there, I relocated to Birmingham to develop
a magazine called Micro Computer Mart, there I utilised
operational research methodologies to optimise distribution,
profit and to understand its customer segmentation – my team
and I undertook many analytics projects there. That magazine
after ten years of evolution, successfully sold to Trinity Mirror
Group in 1996 (it later moved on to Dennis Publishing)
After the Trinity Mirror sale, I retired for a year, hated it, and
sought out work with the OR Society, I succeeded in that goal.
27 years later I am still providing content for and enjoying
keeping members of the society informed on events, and new
developments applicable to OR practice and academia.

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75 Volumes of the Journal

75 volumes of
the Journal
GRAHAM RAND

2024 will see the publication of the 75th volume of what

started as the Operational Research Quarterly and became, in
1978, the Journal of the Operational Research Society. It was
the world’s first OR journal.

In 1949, the initiative in its creation was taken by Sir Charles

Goodeve, a key player in the OR Club and Director of
the British Iron and Steel Research Association (BISRA).
Goodeve asked two of his staff to be joint editors. Max
Davies, his Chief Public Relations Officer, was appointed as
business editor and Roger Eddison, who had been appointed
BISRA’s Head of Operational Research in 1948, became The Journal’s milestone is tinged with sadness, as one of the
technical editor. current editors, John Boylan, died in July after a short illness
Tributes to him will be published in the journal and
In addition to individual subscriptions at an initial cost of 10 in InsideOR.
shillings (£0.50) per annum (less than £15 now) including
postage, the journal was financed through revenue being It is invidious to comment on just a few of the editors of the
raised by lectures arranged by University College, London, journal, but that doesn’t stop me doing so. Three of them were
which made a considerable profit as they were hugely over- also Presidents of the Society.
subscribed, and because the lecturers waived their fees. The
surplus was placed at the disposal of the Club to fund the Following his editorship, Roger Eddison continued to make
journal. This is quite a contrast to today when income from significant contributions to the OR profession. He was
publications dominates the OR Society accounts.

Volumes Dates Editors

1–10 1950-59 Roger Eddison and Maz Davis
11–14 1959-63 Roger Eddison
15–19 1964-68 John Lawrence
20–22 1969-71 Ray Cuninghame-Green
23–31 1972-80 Brian Haley
32–35 1981-84 Peter Amiry
36–41 1985-90 John Hough
42–47 1991-96 Graham Rand
48–52 1997-2001 John Ranyard
53–61 2002-10 Terry Williams and John Wilson
61–70 2010-19 Tom Archibald and Jonathan Crook
71–74 2020-23 John Boylan, Martin Kunc, Said Salhi and Zhe George Zhang
75– 2023 Martin Kunc, Said Salhi and Zhe George Zhang

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75 Volumes of the Journal

President of the OR Society in 1966-67 and was very involved

with the establishment of EURO, the European Association
of OR Societies, in 1975. He became its first secretary, a
position he held until 1980.

Although he left BISRA in 1955, he was appointed by the

President of the Board of Trade as a member of his Advisory
Council on Research and Development for Iron and Steel
until 1969. He joined NAAFI in 1955 as Manager of Plans
and Methods Department. In 1961 he then joined Stafford
Beer at the consultancy Sigma as Operations Director, and
when Beer left in 1966 Eddison took over as Managing
Director. He continued until 1970, when Sigma was closed
down. Then he was involved in setting up Novy, Eddison and
Partners. Harlands of Hull was an old client of Sigma’s, and he
became a Director and assisted them for several years.

Brian Haley became, in 1959, the UK’s first designated

lecturer in Operational Research, at Birmingham University,
becoming Professor in 1968. He gave over 60 years of
substantial involvement and dedicated service to the
OR Society and to the worldwide OR community. His
involvement with the OR Society began in 1954 when
he became an associate member. In 1959 he became a full
member and founded, with Neil Jessop, the Midlands OR
Society, becoming its first Secretary. Following his stint as
editor, he became President of the OR Society from 1982-83.
The focus of his service to the Society was publications. He
was the first UK contributing editor to International Abstracts
in Operations Research. He was a member of the Society’s
Publications Committee for over 20 years. Following his
retirement from academic life in 1999, Brian continued to be
involved in the OR Society’s affairs, most notably as Chair of
the Publications Committee, a position he held for a period
of 11 years. During his time as Chair, the journals in the
Society’s portfolio flourished, and he oversaw the development roles were perhaps those of founding and being the initial
of a variety of initiatives, including the birth of the Journal co-chair of the Heads of OR Committee, now Heads of
of Simulation. Not surprisingly, the OR Society bestowed OR and Analytics Forum (HORAF), in 1987, of chairing
honours on him, first with the Companionship of Operational the membership committee for five years, of chairing two
Research in 1996, and, in 2010, the Beale Medal. national conference organising committees and of initiating
and organising activities in the field of analytics. With an
Brian attended the first international OR conference, held in overriding interest in how to make OR effective, he promoted
Oxford in September 1957, which led to the creation of the and led sessions at many conferences on OR practice as well as
International Federation of Operational Research Societies doing much informal writing on the topic. He also served the
(IFORS) on 1st January 1959. He edited the proceedings wider OR community through his membership of the relevant
of two IFORS’ conferences: those held in Tokyo and Kyoto, SERC and similar committees. After 14 years as Secretary to
Japan (1975) and Toronto, Canada (1978), before becoming HORAF he retired last year. But he is still active, helping to
successively Vice-President (1983-85), Chairman of the develop articles to showcase effective and impactful OR for
Publications Committee and, from 1992-1994, President. the IFORS Newsletter.
John Ranyard, in contrast to Eddison and Haley, became
editor after having been President of the Society. Whilst The 75th volume of the Journal is being celebrated in
managing the Yorkshire unit of the British Coal OR group, several ways. The first two issues of volume 75 will each
John was active in the OR Society, becoming Chairman of the contain a detailed historical paper. The first will consider the
Yorkshire and Humberside Regional Group and representing contributions of the editors up to volume 35 in 1984. The
the group as regional member on Council, and in the Society second contains personal reflections of the editors from 1985
nationally he had taken the chair of the National Events until the present. There is a special session at OR65, which
Committee. He was President in 1988-89. will discuss, inter alia, the changing contents of the Journal,
and the changing publishers, including the time the Journal
After his presidency, he remained active in the Society as was part of Robert Maxwell’s Pergamon empire: now that’s an
chair or member of several committees. His most notable interesting story.

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The OR Club and our survival after World War II

The OR Club and our

survival after World
War II – a brief timeline
NIGEL CUMMINGS

O
perational research (OR) helped keep
the UK out of Nazi Germany’s clutches
during World War II. Patrick Blackett
and his ‘circus’ of scientists collectively
used OR practices to help win the
war, but afterward, his circus became
somewhat redundant to the military.

If operational research was to survive into any future at all,

Blackett and his scientists realised that the facts, patterns and
principles of it would have to ratified, codified, and applied to
analysis in business and organisations outside of the military.

How better to employ it then, than to use OR to rebuild war

weary Britain, to educate industry and its business leaders that
the only way to effect post war recovery, would be to apply a
‘science of better’, gain efficiencies, cheapen production and first Chairman of the IOR advisory committee. (More on
increase productivity. Sir Charles Goodeve in a future issue)

To continue public and private interest in OR a decision
was made to form a ‘club’, a club that extolled the practice
of OR to a world in need of change and improvement. This
realisation saw Patrick Blackett and other scientists, ‘found’
the OR Club in April 1948 with an initial membership of
fifty. The purpose of the original club was to hold scientific
meetings and, from 1950, to produce a quarterly journal. This
club became the Operational Research Society (ORS) in
late 1953.
The Society established an office in London in 1959 and
was incorporated on 30th June 1960. The ORS was a
scientific body which did not engage in project work, unlike
the Institute for Operational Research (IOR) which was
established 1st May 1963 within the framework of the
Tavistock Institute of Human Relations (TIHR) which
provided ‘an administrative and spiritual home for the new
research institute’. The first dedicated chair in OR was
established at Lancaster University in 1964.
In 1973, the IOR agreed to an internal merger with a group of
social scientists from the TIHR with whom they had worked
for a number of years. IOR had several bases - at the TIHR in
London, in Coventry (which became the centre from which
projects concerned with local government, the health service
and industry were managed), and Edinburgh, where the
Scottish Institute for Operational Research was based. ORS
HQ moved to Birmingham in 1973, from where the Society
continued to publish Operational Research Quarterly, which
in 1978 assumed the title Journal of the Operational Research
Society and comprised twelve annual issues.
In 1979, an inter-disciplinary unit at ORS adopted the
title Centre for Organisational and Operational Research
(COOR). The COOR disbanded in 1985.
Future articles will look in depth at the growth of ORS

The idea of a spiritual home for OR, was originated within

the Operational Research Society (ORS) by Neil Jessop. Neil
Jessop was the first Director of the IOR. (Neil Jessop died
suddenly on 26 April 1969.) Sir Charles Goodeve became the

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Crossword Puzzle

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Archive collection of OR Newsletters

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12
How OR helped to save Britain during World War II
How OR
helped to
save Britain
during
WW2
NIGEL CUMMINGS
British and American scientists during World War 2
developed and grew a new field called operational research.
This new field provided hope that Britain could win the
war and become able to turn back the tide of the German
submarines invasions which threatened UK and European
coastlines and shipping.
Operational research was a known study field as far back as
the late 1930’s, but it really rose to prominence as a ‘battle
beating science’ from March 1941, when the British War
Cabinet agreed to try out a new strategy to improve the
efficiency and strengths of Britain’s naval war campaign
against the German naval forces during World War II.
This new strategy saw the hiring of an ardent socialist, Patrick
Maynard Stewart Blackett (later Baron Blackett), a former
naval officer and a future winner of the Nobel Prize. (Blackett,
was born in 1897 in London.) He is little remembered by
society at large today, but by operational research societies
worldwide, he is regarded as the founding ‘father’
of Operational Research.
Blackett assisted in the recruitment of a team of scientists
from Britain and the USA, that collectively did much to win
the war against Nazi Germany. As director of the UK’s World
War Two anti-submarine defensive
The key to Blackett’s and his companions in science, success
was the application of a thoroughly scientific mindset backed
by little more than mathematics and probability theory, this
helped Britain win essential battles against Hitler’s Germany.
Collectively, Blackett’s team demonstrated to disbelieving
Navy Admirals and Army Generals methods that could be
used to double and triple the effectiveness of the failing allied
campaigns against the German U boat barricade of Britain.
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Remarkably Blackett’s team only ever consisted of 100
scientists or so. Collectively they helped beat the U boat
barricade - a mere fraction of the many other scientists who
worked to achieve far better known triumphs in science
such as the breaking of the German enigma cypher by Alan
Turing and his team at the UK’s Bletchley Park, and the
making of the atomic bomb thanks to the efforts of Robert
Oppenheimer. (Oppenheimer, by the way was supervised at
Cambridge University by Patrick Blackett.)
Turing’s work was depicted in the 2004 film, The Imitation
Game. Whilst Robert Oppenheimer’s efforts have recently
been depicted in the July 2023 release of Christopher Nolan’s
film, Oppenheimer. Sadly, there has never been a film about
Blackett and his motley crew of scientists. Although Nolan’s
film does feature Blackett, as a character played by the actor
James D’Arcy.
Blackett and his collection of scientists were intrinsically,
an ‘odd’ collection, all assembled in one place, they were
physicists, chemists, botanists, physiologists, geneticists,
insurance actuaries, economists, mathematicians and
astronomers, together they formed Blackett’s Circus’ of
rigorous scientists. (The lives of these men and women will be
highlighted in future articles)
All we have to remember them today, are the archives we, the
Operational Research Society maintain, and some ‘important’
buildings named in the honour of the father of OR. One of
these is the Blackett Laboratory, at Imperial College, London,
part of the Faculty of Natural Sciences
and Physics.
 13

The HumOR Column

The HumOR
Column
GAVIN BLACKETT

The HumOR column first made its debut in InsideOR in mid-2010 and made regular appearances over the next three
to four years. Seemingly, I ran out of material early in 2014. Some might say I ran out of good material much earlier!
The initial hope was to make the jokes vaguely mathematical or scientific, but that good intention soon came up against
reality. Here’s a couple of my personal favourites that are (a) short, and (b) not as racy as some of those we published!

Reaching the end of a job interview, the Human Resources

Person asked a young analyst who was fresh out of his
Masters course, “What starting salary were you
thinking about?”
The analyst said, “In the neighbourhood of £50,000 a
year, depending on the benefits package.”
Three statisticians went duck hunting.
A duck flew up and the first statistician took a shot.
He missed, being a foot too high.
The second shot and was a foot too low.
The third shouted, “We hit it!”

The interviewer said, “Well, what would you say to a

package of 7 weeks holiday, full medical
and dental cover, company retirement A physicist, a chemist, an applied mathematician and
fund to 50% of salary, executive share ChatGPT were given the task of boiling a jug of water.
option scheme, profit related pay and a The physicist decided to use kinetic energy by stirring it.
company car leased every 2 years The chemist chose to use the calorithic content of methane
- say, a 5 series BMW?” and put it over the Bunsen burner. And the applied
mathematician noted that as the water was at 293 deg
The analyst sat up straight and K and boiling point of water is 373 deg K that to first
said, “Wow! Are you kidding?” approximation, the water was already boiling. ChatGPT
recognized the correlation between the average
The interviewer replied, “Yeah, temperature and CO2 levels decided to fill the room
but you started it.” with CO2…

TO FINISH WITH, A SELECTION OF ONELINERS….

I thought I’d got over my phobia of German sausages
but I’m worried it’s coming back. I fear the wurst . . .
“We don’t allow faster than light neutrinos in here”
said the bartender. A neutrino walks into a bar.
The founder of Dulux paint has been found dead of
exposure at the top of a mountain. Police said he could
have done with another coat.
FOR SALE: Tennis racquet , with full service history!

I never wanted to believe that my Dad stole from his
job as a road worker, but when I got home, all the
signs were there.
IKEA are to run their own schools, the curriculum will
be normal but the day will start with self-assembly . . .
John F Kennedy, Indira Gandhi, John Lennon. If history
teaches us anything, it’s that if you don’t want your
child assassinated, then don’t name them after
an airport.

Now, can you appreciate why this column was discontinued, Ed.

theorsociety.com
14 CELEBRATING 75 YEARS OF OPERATIONAL RESEARCH
Celebrating 75 Years of
Operational Research
JOHN MEDHURST
The formation of the OR Club
in 1948 marks the beginning
of Operational Research as a
separate scientific discipline and
a distinct professional identity.
The 75 years since have been a
time of considerable social and
technological change and OR has
changed significantly in response to those
changes, in terms of subject matter, methods
and tools. What was once done by hand on sheets of graph
paper or using logarithm tables can now be done on our
mobile phones.
One of the fascinations of the Netflix series The Crown was that
the life of the late Queen encompassed and reflected the many
changes in the United Kingdom and the world over that
same period.
That makes 75 years an excellent opportunity to take stock
and think about how we have progressed, what we have learnt
and what that might mean for the future direction of OR and
the Society.
Because of this our theme for this year of celebration is the
Past, Present and Future of OR.
How has OR changed over the past 75 years? How has that
change happened and what has driven it – is it changes in our
methodologies, changes in the society of which we are a part or
changes in the organisations for which we work?
OR has always struggled with identity. The 75th anniversary
provides an opportunity to think seriously about what it is
theorsociety.com
that binds us all together. By better understanding how the
discipline has developed we may find ourselves in a better
position to understand our present - defining what we are and
explaining this to others.
There are also enormous opportunities that have driven the
growth of OR over the past 75 years – as a discipline OR
is all about gathering, organising and using information to
make better decisions. The science that has developed most
spectacularly over the past 75 years is that dealing with the
generation, storage and manipulation of information.
What will the discipline of OR look like in another 75 years?
Doubtless there will be new opportunities that come from the
continuing development of our field or from new problems and
new technologies. What are the new techniques, new tools and
new approaches that will drive the development of OR over the
next 75 years?
Formal celebrations of the 75th anniversary will start at OR65
at the University of Bath in September and will conclude at
OR66. Throughout the year we will have events and activities to
celebrate our anniversary and our theme.
This is where things come back to you. To help celebrate our
anniversary, we are looking for your stories, whether these are
about how OR has developed over the past 75 years, how it is
developing now or how it might develop in the future.
The story of OR is the sum of all our stories, and as part of
our celebrations this year we would like to hear those stories,
whether that is through an email, an article in InsideOR, a video
or a webinar, so please do join in with our celebrations and let
us know about your perspective on the Past, Present and Future
of OR.
 ISMOR 40TH BIRTHDAY 15

40th International
Symposium on Military
Operational Research
(ISMOR 2023)
NOEL CORRIGAN, EVENTS COMMITTEE

ISMOR is the annual international symposium supported by

the UK Ministry of Defence, under the auspices of the OR
Society (through the Defence SIG). As usual, the event took
place in mid-July, based at Royal Holloway University
of London.

To celebrate the 40th Symposium the first evening included a

special visit to the Imperial War Museum in London, providing a
number of delegates with an evening to remember.

Over three days more than 100 delegates partook of a series of

workshops, and a range of presentations across six carefully
curated sessions.

The themes this year were:
• Embracing the whole problem
• Impact at the pace of change
• Collaboration across boundaries
Wednesday’s very popular workshops covered topics including
how to make careers in defence OR more appealing; rapid
assessment of whole life costs and benefits; the work of the
field army OR branch; and how analytical techniques can be
used to evaluate the effectiveness of projects from a defence
economics perspective.
The keynote address was delivered by Mr Eric Kim, Executive
Director, Office of Strategic Intelligence and Analysis, at the US
Department of Defence.
The big debate posed the question “Is Military OR ready for
Artificial Intelligence”. Perhaps not surprisingly, the symposium
felt the answer is yes. A fuller report on the debate will be
provided in a future edition of InsideOR. Reassuringly, when
asked, Chat GPT’s response was consistent with the findings
of the debate participants.
During the Symposium, analysts from the UK Defence industry,
Dstl, academia, NATO, the RAF, and Canadian DRDC delivered
papers. To strengthen links between ISMOR and the US MORS,
an innovation this year was the Eugene Visco prize winning
presentation, delivered by Paul Fanto from the Institute of
Defence Analysis.
A plethora of sponsors provided support to the event, including
Sirius Analysis, BAE Systems Corda, DAS, Lockheed Martin,
Morshead consulting, TP Group and Roke. Their generous
support ensured delegates were well provided for socially, with
a BBQ on Tuesday evening, and a gala dinner (complete with
port, though not passed from the left!). The Ronnie Shepherd
memorial address was delivered this year by Professor Nira
Chamberlain OBE, current President of the Mathematical
Association, and past president of the IMA. In a thought-
provoking and witty address, Nira provided a challenge to the
defence OR community – how can we continue to be scientists
and not descend into numerology under the influence of AI?
The Eugene Visco award for the best presentation by an early
career analyst was won by Adam Beckett from Roke for his
paper on “Rapid analysis in a congested environment” which
showed how the rapid analysis of emissions data can be used
to enhance the field training experience for the British Army.
The David Faddy award for the overall best presentation was
won by Elizabeth Burn of Dstl. Her paper “Finding space to play
wargames” provided an excellent overview of the UK defence
space strategy, and how space has been incorporated into
wargames to the benefit of all the front-line commands.
All the presentations will soon be available in PDF format on the
OR Society website, through the Defence SIG page, where the
full archive of ISMOR papers is also available.

theorsociety.com
16 THE ORS THROUGHOUT THE YEARS

The ORS 1964

throughout The first chair in operations research

was created at the newly formed
University of Lancaster in 1964.

the years
Similar developments have taken
place in most countries in which a
national operations research society
exists. Membership levels grew
steadily, the original fifty had swelled
to a total of around 1250 members
1953 in 1964. Membership of the society
is currently around 3,100. By 1962,
The Operational Research Society (ORS) is the definition had been expanded to:
founded. Volume 1, No 1 of Operational Research “Operational Research is the attack
Quarterly (ORQ) is duly published in March of modern science on complex
1950 – the first editors were Max Davies and problems arising in the direction and
Roger T Eddison. The main purpose of ORQ is to management of large systems of
assemble in one place as much as possible of the men, machines, material and money
information that OR workers now find (or fail to in industry, business,
find) scattered widely over the very large body of
the scientific and technical literature. The method
is to provide a quarterly collection of abstracts of
relevant papers and articles, taken from as wide a
field as possible.

1952
In 1952 a curriculum leading
to a master’s and doctoral
1948 degree was established at the
Case Institute of Technology
The first appearance of operations research as an (now Case Western Reserve
academic discipline came in 1948 when a course University) in Cleveland.
in non-military techniques was introduced at the Since then, many major
Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. academic institutions in the
The Operational Research Club is founded April 1948 United States have introduced
with an initial membership of fifty. programs. In the United
Kingdom courses were
initiated at the University
of Birmingham in the
early 1950s.

theorsociety.com

1980
The explosive growth of personal computers in
business organisations in the early 1980s spawned a
parallel growth in software to assist in decision making.
These tools include spreadsheet programs for analysing
complex problems with trails that have different sets of
data, data base management programs that permit the
orderly maintenance and manipulation of vast amounts
of information, and graphics programs that quickly and
easily prepare professional-looking displays of data.
1978
The first scholarly journal,
the Operational Research
Quarterly, published in
the United Kingdom, was
initiated in 1950; in 1978 its
name was changed to the
Journal of the Operational
Research Society. The first
article to appear in the ORQ
was ‘Operational Research’
by Professor Blackett. The
Quarterly continued as
such until 1978 with twelve
annual issues.
THE ORS THROUGHOUT THE YEARS 17
2010
The OR Society continues to be an innovator and leader
in its field. Today the society has around 3,100 members
in 53 countries who receive a wide range of services and
benefits. The society’s training programme is one of the most
comprehensive OR training programmes in the world. Its
annual conference is the largest national conference outside
the USA, and its series of New to OR conferences is the world’s
leading conference for those at the start of their careers.
2023
The society celebrates its 75th
year of Operational Research
in the UK whilst also celebrating
the anniversary of the founding of
the Operational Research Society Club in
1948. Plans are underway to showcase how our
members have and continue to shape the Society.
Plans for digital transformation are underway with a
new monthly e-newsletter launching in October. Not
before we celebrate our 75th year in style at our Annual
Conference, OR65 for 2023 at University of Bath.
theorsociety.com
18 TRAINING ARTICLE - MARTIN PARR

Now and Then –

OR Training Offered
in 1971 and 2023
MARTIN PARR

The training working group came across an article from

InsideOR highlighting the training offered back in 1971.
This makes very interesting reading. In 1971 a full set of OR
courses was available, just as they are now. There are many
similarities between our current course offering and the
courses from 52 years ago. Back in 1971 the ORS provided
access to programming, forecasting data processing and
statistics courses just as we do now. However, there are also
many differences. In 1971 all of the programming courses
were in languages like Fortran (which according to my first
boss was the best language in the world). But now our
courses are in languages such as python and R. In 1971 there
were, of course, no artificial intelligence courses and no data
visualisation courses. From the course list that we have I can
also find nothing on problem structuring or soft systems, I
guess that Peter Checkland’s work had not quite made it into
OR training at this time. In 1971 we also had to wait some
while for agent based modelling and cognitive mapping.

It is interesting to see how things have moved on in 52 years.

Every course was a face to face course back in 1971.
Nowadays most courses are available online. For many years
before the pandemic we have seen pressures on training and
travel budgets. Not to mention pressure on time. Our current
courses reflect an era of time poverty. Most of our current
courses are run in a day. Many courses in 1971 ran over days,
weeks and some of them months. The Hoskins Education industry running right up until the end of August, so two months
Centre in Bournemouth offered a real-time systems course would be needed to fully complete this course of study. I really
that ran for two weeks. The commercial systems analysis like the more leisurely approach to things in 1971. A great
course ran for four weeks and was said to provide a thorough example is the marketing event in June 1971 that began at 5:00
grounding in company organisation, analytical skills and PM with Sherry with the event itself starting at 5:30 in central
systems standards. I’m not sure we would get many delegates London – very civilised.
on a four week course in 2023 no matter how good it was. The
prices have also changed considerably a one day conference in (Ed, to get some perspective, my starting salary in 1970 was
central London had a fee of £13 for members. £1,050 with the British Steel Corporation, beer was around 10p
a pint. Incidentally, the Harvard course was effectively replaced
My favourite of all of the courses from 1971 was a Senior by MBAs)
Management course offered by Harvard Business School from
4th July to 13th August, with a fee of £1580 - quite a sum of
money in 1971. Can you imagine in this day and age asking your
boss for a month and a half off for a course! But it doesn’t end
there - following the course there is a “study tour” of American

theorsociety.com

In a class of their own:
the ORS training offering
MARTIN KEYS
“Learning never exhausts the mind”― Leonardo da Vinci
If you look on the ORS website it talks of the ORS training
offering in terms of:
“(to) give you the tools you need to apply your skills and
knowledge in a real-world environment.”
Surveys of the ORS membership over the years have
consistently shown that members greatly value the training
offered by the Society both in terms of what and how it is
taught but also the ability to hear about the issues faced and
approaches adopted by people working in other related areas.
The training course offering from the ORS has developed and
evolved over the years to reflect new areas of interest and their
associated techniques.
For many years the courses offered were purely ‘classroom’
based. This included training courses offered in the training
suite at the ORS offices and bespoke courses, offered on-site
at the client’s premises, within the UK and abroad as far as
Dubai. The latter enabled the ‘tweaking’ of standard courses to
better meet an individual client’s particular training requirement.
Latterly the open course offering was expanded by also offering
courses at training suites in London. This was originally based
on a joint enterprise with the Government Operational Research
Service (GORS) to offer modules from the Introduction to OR
courses, but was subsequently widened to offer a wider range
of topics at the London venues.
Pre-COVID initial steps had begun on offering training courses
on-line; and a hybrid training offering of both ‘classroom’ based
and on-line training was developed. This was complimented
THE ORS TRAINING OFFERING 19
by the development of the “Webinar Wednesday’s” programme.
With the coming of COVID and the associated impracticality of
continuing with ‘classroom’ based training the move to being
an on-line offering became complete. Now we are moving back
into more socially interactive times, there is some return to a
few ‘classroom’ based courses but on-line training is now the
dominant part of the offering.
Over the years our training courses have benefitted from
the knowledge and teaching skills of many of the leading
academics and practitioners, of their time. Such people as
John Friend (The Strategic Choice Approach); Max Moullin
(The Public Sector Scorecard); Stewart Robinson (Agent based
Simulation) to name but a few.
Many of these have also served with distinction in other roles
within the Society.
The ORS Training Working Group (TWG) is a small panel of
practitioners and academics who review the courses offered
on a yearly basis. The programme of training offered evolves
year on year to reflect new techniques and interests. So over
time some courses come off the programme but new ones
are added. Besides the annual course review the TWG meets a
couple of other times in the year to review the progress of the
programme, consider feedback received and aim for ongoing
improvement of the offering, Another vital part of the TWG are
the OR Society office members. This was until recently Gavin
Blackett (now replaced by Seb Hargreaves) and also, for some
time now, Jennie Phelps. Besides their useful contribution
to the discussions they provide the linkage to Board and the
administration and day to day running of the programme,
respectively. These inputs have been vital in terms of integrating
the training offering within the wider activities of the ORS.
theorsociety.com
20 VOLUNTEERING WITH THE OR SOCIETY
75 Years of
Volunteering
EVE HARDY
In the last edition of InsideOR I thanked all the volunteers
who ensure that The OR Society keeps moving forwards. I
also mentioned one of the ways that we are going to support
volunteers in future – volunteer inductions for Pro Bono OR
and OR in Education volunteers.
The past 75 years have demonstrated what an enormous
impact volunteers have on The OR Society. This will be even
more relevant as we move forwards, and as we continue to
grow as an organisation. Each new development in OR
prompts questions for us – is there enough interest in this new
OR technique for a Special Interest Group? Who would run it?
Should we have more of a voice on this topical issue? Who has
the knowledge and time to help us decide when to speak up on
this? The answer to these questions usually relies
on volunteers.
Volunteers will continue to be a core part of The OR Society, in
all of their various forms across committees, taskforces and
outreach programmes. Volunteering has changed since The
OR Society began (for one, most committee meetings are now
remote!) and will continue to change.
When I think about the future of volunteering at The OR Society,
several things come to mind. I know that I want to ensure
volunteers across the whole organisation feel that they have
all the support and information they need to do a good job as
a volunteer. I want to build on volunteer inductions, learn what
theorsociety.com
other support or information we could provide, and then provide
it. I know I want to learn more about the barriers to volunteering
with us, so I can work to remove them. Where possible, I want
to understand what people find frustrating or inefficient when
they volunteer, so I can improve that too.
All this is easy to say, and harder to do. Step one will be to sit
down and work out how to turn vague ideas into a concrete,
actionable plan. I recently came across a slogan used by
disability activists – nothing about us, without us. In other
words, don’t make changes that impact people without
consulting them. This is an excellent philosophy, especially as
we rely on the time and goodwill of volunteers. I intend to move
forwards with this slogan in mind, and welcome input from
volunteers on all aspects of volunteering with us.
If you have any thoughts or ideas you wish to share on
volunteering at The OR Society, you can do so anonymously
here: https://forms.office.com/e/XiwZ4tffaS
As an aside, in the spirit of nothing about us without us, I am
looking for Pro Bono volunteers for a focus group. So whether
you’ve already done a Pro Bono project or, haven’t yet but would
like to share some ideas to help us gain a fresh perspective then
please get in touch via probonoor@theorsociety.com
Here’s to the next 75 years of volunteering!

Volunteering with the
OR Society – Past,
Present and Future
RUTH KAUFMAN
I’ve been asked to write this article because I have
undertaken so many volunteering roles with the ORS –
internally, supporting the Society’s own groups and activities,
and outreach through education and Pro Bono OR - that it
seemed an economical way of squeezing lots of perspectives
into one page.
Full disclosure: if I’d been asked to write this in mid-career, I
would have had almost nothing to say. I was late to the party.
My first experience – as Secretary of the Health and Social
Services Study Group – only happened because I was working
for the Department of Health at the time; and even then it was
my boss, not me, who recognised the benefits
and lured me into it.
I’m still scarred by that experience.
Notably, the mortification of
organising a pricy event in a
huge venue, where only 20
people turned up, and where
the high-profile speaker
was not amused that
nobody turned out to
hear him, and that
I was not there to
greet him owing to
an unfortunate mix-up
with the tube.
But no pain without gain –
over time, I got so much out
of the role that when the time
was right I grabbed the opportunity to volunteer
some more.
Why? Many reasons: the satisfaction of helping make things
happen that I wanted to happen, because I thought they were
worthwhile and beneficial; working with unexpected people,
building supportive relationships and trusted connections along
the way; discovering novel ideas and unexpected perspectives;
vastly expanding my experience of leadership, communicating
and influencing. I have learnt from people who have gone
before, and passed it on to those who are following on. I have
learnt about new worlds that I barely knew existed – of learned
society operations, of publishing, of almost any economic
VOLUNTEERING WITH THE OR SOCIETY 21
sector touched by OR. And I have found a home in the friendly,
diverse, scattered, important community that is OR beyond
my workplace.
These upsides have drawn me back into serial volunteering
over the last 15 years. For example? Member of the ORS
Council, and Chair of two of its subcommittees (Publicity,
Membership and Website, and Events): Council members
play a vital part in the ORS, holding the Board to account, and
bringing members’ voices and priorities to planning, overseeing,
guiding and delivering the major components of the ORS’s
work. Board Trustee, one of the people ultimately responsible
for the strategy and proper running of the ORS, and President
of the Society/Chair of the Board. Events: pulling together
a stream of talks and workshops for the
annual conference – at its best, this
enables both discipline and people
to flourish through sharing and
cross-fertilisation. Education,
visiting schools and universities
to talk about careers in
OR – this is particularly
enjoyable if you are
at a point in life
where you do not
routinely connect with
young people. Pro
Bono: undertaking
occasional OR projects
for charities and other
‘civil society’ organisations,
and ‘project initiator’ for any
number of charitable projects, a role that
lets me poke my nose into a lot of different businesses and
think about how OR can help. Special Interest Group, currently
with the WORAN Events sub-committee, working with some
amazing volunteers to design networking opportunities and
promote women’s voices.
Volunteering isn’t for everyone, at all times. It can be as full
of frustrations and setbacks as any other human activity. But
when the fit is right, it offers great opportunities for personal
enrichment at the same time as helping others and contributing
to a better world. What more could you ask for?
theorsociety.com
22 WORAN

Women in OR and Analytics

(WORAN): events for the
whole OR community.
RUTH KAUFMAN

WORAN aims to present enjoyable and participative meetings

that raise the visibility and amplify the voice of women, enable
networking, sharing, and learning. We welcome the whole OR/
analytics community regardless of gender.

Please hold the dates. Further details of each event and

registration details will be on the WORAN website nearer
the time. Or please register with WORAN to receive regular
email updates.

• 10th October, 4pm-6pm, online: The Land Lecture

Sue Ferns, former president of the TUC and currently
Senior Deputy General Secretary of Prospect, in
conversation with Theresa Chambers, joint head of Energy
Infrastructure and Markets Analysis at the Department for
Energy Security and Net Zero.

• November 16th, 1.30-2.30 online: Joint meeting with Early

Career Researcher Network: Career breaks and breaking
careers – sharing experiences

• December 15th, 3pm-4pm, online and (if you wish) in local

groups: End-of-year celebration, joint with WISDOM and
WORMS (our EURO and US sister organisations)

To watch recordings of past events: our youtube playlist is at

https://bit.ly/woranvideos

theorsociety.com
 OR LINK TO QUANTUM NAVIGATION 23

OR link to
Quantum Navigation
NIGEL CUMMINGS

The Royal Navy has carried out the first trial of a quantum
navigation system that could allow a vessel to know its
precise position anywhere in the world without using GPS.
But what is quantum navigation? It uses quantum science
and quantum maths.
Quantum science refers to the study of quantum mechanics,
which is a branch of physics that deals with the behaviour
of particles at the atomic and subatomic levels. Lord Patrick
Blackett, the ‘founding father’ of OR, was a physicist who
worked on quantum electrodynamics in cosmic rays and was
awarded a Nobel Prize for this work. It was therefore singularly
appropriate that the sea trials of quantum navigation system
were carried out aboard the Royal Navy’s experimental vessel,
XV Patrick Blackett.
Current research in quantum science focuses on developing
and scaling up quantum systems, improving qubit coherence
and stability, and designing quantum algorithms. Quantum
Metrology and Sensing where quantum systems are used
to make highly precise measurements, may be key in future
navigation systems.
Navigation using quantum science is being trialled by the
Royal Navy. Current navigation systems, like Global Positioning
Systems (GPS), rely on signals transmitted by satellites to
determine the position, velocity, and timing information of a
receiver on Earth – they are limited by atmospheric interference
plus they do not work under water.
for navigation and inertial guidance than standalone GPS ever
could. Quantum navigation can also exploit the phenomenon of
quantum entanglement - a quantum mechanical phenomenon
where two or more particles become interconnected in such a
way that their states are correlated. This property allows for the
creation of quantum-entangled sensors that can improve the
precision of measurements.
A ship equipped with this technology could navigate more
accurately than with chart and compass and without satellite-
based navigation on which the world currently relies.
The system being trialled on the XV Patrick Blackett, contained
within a shipping container held fast with cargo straps is a
white box about the size of a fridge, connected to computers.
Ultimately, if it can be made to work as intended, it will be
shrunk to a much more manageable size and, of course, well
hidden within the vessel. Whilst the technology may work in
a laboratory protected from all forms of radiation, magnetic
interference and seismic movements, getting such sensitive
equipment to work on a ship is quite another matter.
Apparently, the “white box” contains about a billion atoms of
rubidium-87 in temperatures probably close to absolute zero.
That is about as much as one can hope to know at this stage.
More at: www.bit.ly/43rwWGp and www.bit.ly/3ONM0JI

Underwater navigation is done by a

sophisticated form of dead reckoning. Given
where you were when you started, by measuring
your speed and direction and taking into
account underwater currents, you can work
out your current position to within a certain
tolerance. To determine precisely where you are,
which is vital if you are close to a border with an
unfriendly country, you have to surface to use
either a GPS type system or triangulation using
beacons. Surfacing, however, gives away your
position and, if you have got your sums wrong
may lead to an international incident.

What is required is a system which gives your

exact position without having to surface or to
transmit any radio signals. This where quantum
science comes in. Quantum gyroscopes use
quantum properties to measure rotation and
provide more accurate and reliable information

theorsociety.com
24 MEMBERSHIP
Applying OR to
Membership
ROB WALLACE
In this special issue for our 75th anniversary I have been
tasked with writing about our membership, as the membership
manager. The theme is past, present and future, and I wanted
to look at how our diverse membership has changed over
the past 75 years. I quickly ran into a huge roadblock in my
research of the history of our membership - the data simply
is not good enough the further back I go, so I’ve decided to
change this article to instead talk about the past, present and
future of our membership data.
Before the introduction of a digital member database in the
early 2000s, we stored very little data on our members and
did very little with that data. I can see who our members are
at certain points in time, and tracking our total membership is
useful but I don’t really know what interested our past members
or what they engaged with. Our total membership has remained
at around 3000 since the late 1960’s but surely there are more
people now working with or have an interest in operational
research, so how can we improve membership to retain and
attract members?
For us to serve our members better we need to know what
interests them and what they might want to engage with. With
incremental improvements to our data over the past several
years I can look now and see who attended our Analytics
Summit event in 2018, who is part of the Systems Thinking
theorsociety.com
special interest group, who joined to get accreditation. By
understanding that our members are individuals and knowing
what they are interested in, we can tailor your experience of
membership so that you see more of what you actually want to
see rather than just telling everyone about everything we do.
But we aren’t where we want to be yet. Member numbers have
been creeping up but remain close to where they were 50 years
ago, so there are still gaps in our knowledge. You’ll have been
contacted recently to complete a survey or may soon be asked
to take part in a focus group and I urge you please to take
part because it will lead to improvements to your experience
of membership. If we know what our members want from
membership then we can focus resource on those things and
we have a happier, more fulfilled community.
The Society’s vision is to build a world improved by rigorous
analysis and better, evidence-based, decision-making. We
need to practice what we preach - making use the evidence
we have from our member data and interactions to make
better decisions for them. Only by learning what you want
from membership can we improve our data and make these
better decisions, so please help us make your experience of
membership the best it can be and to increase the size of this
great community of operational researchers.

EDUCATION
MATTHEW ROBINSON
A BRIEF OR IN
EDUCATION HISTORY
The OR in Education (ORiE)
taskforce, originally called
the OR in Schools (ORiS)
OR IN
taskforce, was formed
in 2007 in response to
a study showing that
school children had a poor
awareness of OR. Their goal
was to ‘ensure every school
child knows what OR is’.
The excellent outreach work
carried out by volunteers
grew and evolved. In 2016
the goal was changed
to ‘every student knows
what OR is’ to reflect the
fact that ORiS volunteers
were visiting universities,
colleges and science fairs
alongside schools.
In early 2018 The OR
Society launched sub-
brands for each of its
outreach programmes. OR in
Schools became an official
sub-brand and received
a blue logo and branding.
Meanwhile, the outreach
work continued growing,
and in the academic year
2018-2019 ORiS volunteers
visited more universities
than schools.
The OR in Schools sub-brand
no longer covered all of the
education outreach work
volunteers did, so in 2019
the OR in Schools sub-brand
changed to OR in Education.
The change was important
to reflect all of the hard
work that volunteers and the
ORiS/ORiE taskforce did,
and still do. We also took
the opportunity to update
the brand colour. Against
the backdrop of the need to
encourage more women and
girls into STEM fields, a blue
logo may have inadvertently
encouraged misconceptions
that OR is a ‘masculine’
field. The purple logo was
intended to avoid this and
certainly makes volunteers
distinctive at events.
WHAT DOES THIS
MEAN?
The outreach work done
primarily by our volunteers
falls under the guidance
of the ORiE Taskforce and
invaluable support from the
Education Manager. This
work can be schools visits
(practical exercises and/
or career talks), attending
careers fairs at universities
or engaging with young
people at large events such
as the Big Bang Fair. This
was recently held at the
NEC in Birmingham and we
managed to engage with
nearly 700 schoolchildren
and nearly 100 teachers
through activities such as
Lego furniture building.
25
OR IN EDUCATION
Since 2013, ORiE volunteers
have attended an average of
almost 50 events per year,
which doesn’t include the
events we have attended
with a focus on ensuring
teachers were aware of
how we could support
them. Although the number
of students we speak to
at events is hard to track,
it’s not an exaggeration to
say ORiE volunteers inspire
thousands of volunteers
each year.
Whilst the Education
Manager performs an
amazing job developing the
resources and coordinating
the activities of ORiE,
we are heavily reliant on
volunteers to ensure our
activities continue. The
more volunteers we have,
the more work we can
do. Looking forward we
want to expand this vital
work, which contributes
to the Society’s charitable
aims. This is particularly
important in areas where
OR might not be well
known, which additionally
contributes to the Society’s
EDI objectives. Please have
a look at our webpages on
the OR Society’s web site
and consider volunteering.
Let’s aim to achieve the
objective of ‘every student
knows what OR is’.
THEORSOCIETY.COM
 SIGS
26

SIGS

Our Special Interest Groups (SIGs) emerged as dedicated

communities of professionals and academics focused
on specific areas within operational research. These
groups played a pivotal role in encouraging collaboration,
knowledge sharing, and skill development. The enthusiasm
and dedication of members helped in developing ground-
breaking research and techniques, making significant
contributions to the field of operational research.

As the operational research landscape evolved, some SIGs

faced challenges and became defunct due to terminology
changes or shifting focus within the field. However, these
transitions allowed new SIGs to emerge, addressing
contemporary areas of interest and expertise. The
adaptability of our SIGs has been instrumental in ensuring
their relevance and maintaining a vibrant community that
continues to thrive.

Now our SIGs are stronger than ever, harnessing the power of
digital communication and technology to connect members
from around the world. Through webinars, online workshops,
and virtual conferences, SIG members have access to a
plethora of knowledge-sharing opportunities. These events
facilitate discussions on cutting-edge research, practical
applications, and industry trends, helping members stay
informed and inspired.
The SIGs’ activities have also expanded into collaborative
projects, where members work together on solving real-
world challenges. This interdisciplinary approach encourages
innovation and enhances the impact of operational research
on various industries and sectors.
As we look towards the future, the potential for our SIGs to
further contribute to the operational research landscape is
exciting. One avenue for growth is delving deeper into the
AI/ML (Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning) space. AI
and ML have already shown immense promise in optimising
complex systems, streamlining processes, and making data-
driven decisions. Integrating AI/ML into
operational research will open up new
possibilities and enhance the
effectiveness of our solutions.
To embrace the opportunities
presented by AI/ML, the
society should look to
our members to find experts in these domains. A new SIG
could explore the latest AI/ML methodologies, applications,
and ethical considerations within the context of OR. By
collaborating with other AI/ML organisations and industry
partners, an AI/ML SIG can establish itself as a leading voice
in the intersection of AI/ML and operational research.
To ensure that our SIGs continue to flourish and stay relevant,
we must actively encourage diversity and inclusivity within
their membership. By promoting an inclusive environment
that welcomes individuals from diverse backgrounds,
experiences, and perspectives, we can enrich the exchange
of ideas and promote creativity within our SIGs. Additionally,
mentorship and support programs can be established to
nurture the next generation of operational research experts,
empowering them to make their mark in the field.
Our special interest groups have been and will continue to be
the lifeblood of the Operational Research Society. The past
has seen their growth, the present showcases their vitality,
and the future promises exciting new horizons. Together,
as a united community of passionate professionals
and academics, we will shape the future of operational
research and make a lasting impact.

THANK YOU TO OUR MEMBERS AND CROSSWORD ANSWERS
CELEBRATING
COLLABORATIVE
EXCELLENCE: A
HEARTFELT THANK
YOU TO OUR OR
SOCIETY MEMBERS
In an era where complexity is the norm and challenges are
as diverse as they are daunting, The OR Society stands as
a beacon of intellectual prowess and collaborative spirit.
Your dedication to the field of Operational Research (OR)
and your pursuit of the science of better decision making
provides inspiration and deserves admiration.
This isn’t just a thank you letter; it’s a heartfelt salute to the
indomitable minds who continue to shape industries and
reshape paradigms. Your commitment to advancing the
theory and practice of OR has paved the way for businesses
to flourish, governments to streamline operations, and
societies to thrive.
The OR Society isn’t merely an organisation; it’s a tapestry
woven by the passion and brilliance of its members. Your
camaraderie, your intellectual exchanges, and your tireless
efforts to share knowledge have fostered an environment
where innovation flourishes. From groundbreaking research
that pushes boundaries to practical applications that solve
real-world dilemmas, your work encapsulates the true spirit
of synergy.
As we journey through the corridors of time, let’s not forget
the power of gratitude. It’s because of organisations like The
OR Society and its dynamic members that we continue to
evolve. Your willingness to share insights, mentor emerging
talent, and foster an inclusive community is a testament to
your dedication to the betterment of society at large.
In a world that sometimes seems polarised, your
collaboration knows no bounds. You’ve proved that
irrespective of geographical distances, diverse
backgrounds, and varying perspectives, a united passion
for knowledge can bridge any gap. Through your research
papers, conferences, and interactive forums, you’ve painted
a portrait of unity that’s as inspiring as it is essential.
27
So, as we lift our pens to paper (or rather, our fingers to
keyboards), let’s pen a resounding thank you. Thank you for
fortifying the pillars of progress. Thank you for exemplifying
the science and art of collective thinking. Thank you for
reminding us that it’s through collaboration that we
truly conquer.
Here’s to The OR Society, a bastion of collaborative
excellence, and its members who are the architects of the
science and art of better decision making.
SOLUTION TO NOVEMBER’S PUZZLE
ACROSS:
1: 1914–1918. 5: 1189 (3rd crusade). 9: 23/04
(Shakespeare’s birthday). 10: 1492 (Columbus sailed).
11: 807. 13: 1874–79 (Labour government). 15:
0.0871 (relative density of hydrogen at it’s melting
point). 16: 10. 17: 1000000 tons (annual UK beef
production). 18: 40. 21: 14000 (Oxford University
students). 22: 350000 (population of Dyfed). 24: 2.64
miles/sec. (escape velocity of Mercury). 25: 0389
(dialling code for Dumbarton). 27: 1666 (Great Fire of
London). 29: 3210 ft (Scafell Pike). 30: 1822–1895
(Louis Pasteur).
DOWN:
1: 1,1,2,3,... (Fibonacci sequence). 2: 18/08/91 3: 11.
4: 144. 6: 1982–87 (Navratilova Wimbeldon champion).
7: 9771100 (Alitalia passenger miles). 8: 123000000.
12: 249000000. 14: 97073 sq. miles (area of Oregon).
16: 1.414213. 19: £10544.1 million (Uk imports fro
USA). 21: 1665 (Great Plague of London). 26: 868 (first
printing in China). 28: 32 ft/sec.2
THEORSOCIETY.COM
28
PROPLE OF FAITH AND AI
PEOPLE OF
FAITH AND AI.
CAN THEY WORK
IN HARMONY?
NIGEL CUMMINGS
According to John Wyatt, Professor of Ethics and
Perinatology at University College London, speaking at a
conference on the implications of AI for faith and society
in June 2023, “There are huge numbers of people of faith
working in the tech industry. They want to feel that they are
working for the good of humanity,”
John Wyatt’s feeling that AI is good for humanity may be one
shared by many, but there are also many faith advocates that
fear an AI-powered world dominated by software engineers
and soulless algorithms.
AI has been developed to such a level of complexity, that it
now could learn tasks, in much the same way humans do.
This ability of AI, admittedly a programmed ability, has made
it fertile ground for questions of faith.
Former UK cabinet minister, Sajid Javid, recently said that
the adoption of AI technologies highlighted opportunities in
health care and the provision of protection for those at risk,
it could he said help reduce child sexual abuse, mitigate
information warfare and, unfortunately, empower
hostile states.
Religious leaders around the world are united, it seems in
highlighting the need for communities to be aware of, and not
to exclude AI, indeed, The Vatican’s Rome Call for AI ethics in
2020 highlighted the need to make sure that no community
was excluded from AI.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah, faith expert and President of the
Abu Dhabi Forum for Peace, also said of AI, recently, “Along
with the great potential offered by these technologies, they
also open the door to risks and fears of abuse and misuse,
which could lead to catastrophic consequences for our
shared humanity. AI is a revolution that will touch every
aspect of society, nothing will be left untouched.”
Similarly, Dr Harris Bor, research fellow at the London School
of Jewish Studies has said, “AI raises questions that go
beyond AI. It brings into sharp relief questions about what it
means to be human. A religious perspective on AI could shed
light on the ways in which humanity will be diminished by
the technology. Machines can do things better than we can.
When they become more like us, and better than ourselves,
how can we not want to follow them?
Dr Bor’s comment is probably one of the most chilling to
date, regarding what could happen if AI became ‘better’
than humans. It has also raised concerns that the values and
biases of the companies developing AI software could one
dominate as AI technology becomes more widely adopted –
where does that leave faith?
According to a spokesperson for the Faraday Institute for
Science and Religion, “AI is driven by western and Chinese
technology companies […] which raises the risk of
cultural hegemony,”
Dr Yaqub Chaudhary of the Cambridge Muslim College
had, what may seem a word of hope though, when he says,
“These metaphysical ideologies are fully embedded in the
way AI is being developed. When it comes to this new type of
utilitarianism, you don’t just think about human beings that
are alive today. You think about all human lives a billion years
into the future, and that part is highly contentious.”
A warning from him though, he also says, “This could
lead to an AI-powered world which may suit the whims of
Silicon Valley engineers - but is ultimately dissatisfying or
exclusionary to others.
Finally, returning to Professor Wyatt, for a moment. He poses
this question, “Tech-utopianism dreams of a frictionless
future, where every desire, every whim, can be satisfied with
minimum effort. But is this frictionless technological future
the kind of future in which human beings can flourish?”
Time will tell, and only time will show, if faith and AI can co-
exist harmoniously.

PRO BONO OR:
10 YEARS IN
EVE HARDY
Pro Bono OR places volunteers with expertise in OR, data
science or analytics on short term projects with third
sector organisations across the UK. It was inspired by an
OR Society conference stream, where people heard Andrew
Dobson talking about voluntary OR work. Like true OR
professionals, they were motivated to see if voluntary OR
work could be done more systematically. Their proposal
for Pro Bono OR was a hit with both Society members and
staff members, and was formally instituted in 2013. This
means that while we celebrate the 75th anniversary of The
OR Society, Pro Bono OR is also celebrating a significant
anniversary of its own.
Pro Bono OR has achieved a lot in its first 10 years. Pro Bono
support for the third sector is abundant, and we have formed
strong relationships with many pro bono organisations with
similar aims to our own, while carving our own unique niche
in this space. Pro Bono OR even helped the Royal Statistical
Society design their own Pro Bono scheme, Statisticians for
Society. Building on this success, Pro Bono also supported
INFORMS and APDIO (the US and Portuguese OR Societies
respectively) set up their own Pro Bono OR schemes.
Closer to home, Pro Bono OR has undertaken nearly
200 projects over 10 years, donating more than 2,300
volunteering hours to UK charities, worth an estimated
£500,000. Each of these projects has helped third sector
organisations achieve greater insight, improve their decision-
making and promote better ways of working.
29
PRO BONO OR: 10 YEARS IN
Please don’t take my word for it though - Rachel Dunne led
a team working on a Pro Bono OR project and had this to say
at the end of her volunteering experience: “Taking part in the
Pro Bono OR volunteering scheme was a great opportunity
to work on a project I really cared about. I was able to lead
a team of like-minded people and it was a lovely experience
getting to know them, as well as colleagues at the charity we
were working with.”
We recently ran a Pro Bono OR project for Home-Start
Kirklees. Kerri Flanagan is their Director, and shared this
feedback on Pro Bono OR: “The recommendations from the
volunteer were integrated into our volunteer recruitment
plan and marketing strategy which are being invested in to
ensure we increase capacity in the specific areas identified.
Our volunteer was very helpful and provided a set of skills
we do not have within the organisation. She also provided
mapping data and tools so that we could build upon this work
independently ourselves moving forward.”
We remain confident that OR has something unique to offer in
helping with actual decisions that charities face or systems
they need in the context of their complex and messy world.
Find out more at: www.theorsociety.com/ProBonoOR
THEORSOCIETY.COM
30
HISTORY OF BLACKETT
THE BIRTH
OF OR
Patrick Maynard Stuart Blackett, Baron Blackett OM CH
FRS (18 November 1897 – 13 July 1974) was a British
experimental physicist known for his work on cloud
chambers, cosmic rays, and palaeomagnetism, winning the
Nobel Prize for Physics in 1948.
August 1914 at the outbreak of World War I saw Blackett
assigned to active service as a midshipman. He was
transferred to the Cape Verde Islands on HMS Carnarvon
and was present at the Battle of the Falkland Islands. He was
then transferred to HMS Barham and saw much action at the
Battle of Jutland.
While on HMS Barham, Blackett was co-inventor of a gunnery
device on which the Admiralty took out a patent. In October
1916, he became a sub-lieutenant on HMS P17 on Dover
patrol, and in July 1917 he was posted to HMS Sturgeon in
the Harwich Force under Admiral Tyrwhitt.
Blackett was particularly concerned by the poor quality of
gunnery in the force compared with that of the enemy and
of his own previous experience and started to read science
textbooks. He was promoted to lieutenant in May 1918 but
had by then, decided to leave the Navy.
After WW1, in Jan 1919, the Admiralty sent the officers
whose education had been interrupted by the war to the
University of Cambridge. At Magdalene College, Cambridge,
Blackett learnt of the prestigious Cavendish Laboratory
there, and left the Navy to study mathematics and physics.
Graduating from Magdalene College in 1921, Blackett
spent ten years working at the Cavendish Laboratory as an
experimental physicist with Ernest Rutherford and in 1923
became a fellow of King’s College, Cambridge, a position he
held until 1933.
Rutherford and Soddy were observing natural transmutation
as a part of radioactive decay of the alpha decay type. This
was first understood in modern physics by Frederick Soddy
when he, along with Ernest Rutherford in 1901, discovered
THEORSOCIETY.COM
NIGEL CUMMINGS
that radioactive thorium was converting itself into radium. At
that moment of realisation, he shouted out: “Rutherford, this
is transmutation!” Rutherford snapped back, “For Christ’s
sake, Soddy, don’t call it transmutation. They’ll have our
heads off as alchemists.”
Rutherford asked Blackett to use a cloud chamber to find
visible tracks of this natural disintegration, for proof, and by
1925, he had taken 23,000 photographs showing 415,000
tracks of ionised particles. Eight of these were forked,
and this showed that the nitrogen atom-alpha particle
combination had formed an atom of fluorine, which then
disintegrated into an isotope of oxygen 17 and a proton.
Blackett published the results of his experiments and
became the first person to prove that radioactivity could
cause the nuclear transmutation of one chemical element to
another.
Reputation established, Blackett made another major
contribution to the world, when he proved during WWII that
Operational Research, could advise on military strategy
and develop new methods for pragmatising and improving
complex systems through the power of mathematics,
observation and analysis, i.e. solving complex problems
using scientific methods.
In the Navy, he collected a number of colleagues from various
disciplines to form what was known as the Blackett Circus –
the first Operational Research Group.

THE TRANSFORMATIVE ROLE OF AI IN OPERATIONAL RESEARCH
THE TRANSFORMATIVE
ROLE OF AI IN OPERATIONAL
RESEARCH: SHAPING THE
FUTURE OF DECISION-MAKING
CHAT GPT
As the world continues to witness
rapid advancements in technology, AI
emerges as a game-changer in various
industries, and OR is no exception. OR,
a discipline that applies mathematical
and analytical methods to improve
decision-making, optimisation, and
resource allocation, stands to be
significantly impacted by AI in the
future. With the ability to process
vast amounts of data, uncover hidden
patterns, and make predictions,
AI is poised to revolutionise how
businesses, governments, and
organisations approach complex
problem-solving and strategising.
In this article, we explore the various
ways AI is set to impact the sector of
OR in the future.
ENHANCED DATA ANALYSIS
AND PREDICTIVE MODELS
AI technologies like machine learning
and deep learning can analyse vast and
diverse datasets more efficiently than
traditional OR methods. By identifying
patterns, trends, and correlations that
might go unnoticed to human analysts,
AI-powered data analysis holds the
potential to generate more accurate
predictive models. These models can
be utilised to forecast future demand,
optimise supply chains, and improve
resource allocation across industries,
leading to substantial cost savings and
increased efficiency.
REAL-TIME DECISION-MAKING
One of the most significant advantages
AI brings to OR is the ability to make
real-time decisions. Conventional
OR often relies on historical data and
periodic analysis, which can become
outdated in fast-paced environments.
AI-driven systems can process data
in real-time, empowering businesses
to make agile decisions, respond
swiftly to changing conditions, and
seize opportunities as they arise.
This adaptability is especially critical
in sectors like finance, logistics, and
healthcare, where immediate decisions
can have far-reaching consequences.
OPTIMISATION AND
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
AI excels in optimisation tasks,
enabling OR professionals to solve
complex problems with countless
variables. Optimisation algorithms
can be enhanced with AI capabilities,
resulting in more refined and precise
solutions. In manufacturing, for
example, AI can help in production
scheduling, minimising downtime, and
maximising efficiency. Similarly, in
transportation and logistics,
AI algorithms can optimise routes,
reduce fuel consumption, and
minimize delivery times. As AI
continues to evolve, it will lead to
better utilisation of resources, cost
reductions, and improved sustainability
across industries.
Risk Analysis and Mitigation
AI-driven predictive analytics can
aid in assessing and mitigating risks
more comprehensively. By analysing
historical data and identifying
potential risk factors, AI can assist in
making proactive decisions to avoid
or minimise negative outcomes. This
can be instrumental in the insurance
industry, where AI-powered risk
assessment models can lead to more
accurate underwriting and policy
pricing. Additionally, AI can support
financial institutions in detecting
fraud and assessing credit risk more
effectively, ensuring greater
financial stability.
31
AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS AND
DECISION SUPPORT
The integration of AI into OR will lead
to the development of autonomous
systems capable of making decisions
independently. For example, in
autonomous vehicles, AI algorithms
can optimise routes, make real-time
adjustments to traffic conditions,
and enhance passenger safety.
Similarly, in the healthcare sector,
AI-driven systems can assist medical
professionals in diagnosis and
treatment planning, thereby improving
patient outcomes. However, it’s
essential to strike the right balance
between autonomous decision-making
and human oversight to ensure ethical
considerations and accountability.
The future of OR is undeniably
intertwined with the advancements
in AI. AI’s capacity for data analysis,
predictive modeling, real-time decision-
making, and optimisation offers a
multitude of benefits to industries and
organisations worldwide. While these
advancements hold great promise, they
also pose challenges, including ethical
considerations, transparency, and the
potential displacement of certain
job roles.
As AI continues to mature, its
impact on OR will be transformative,
revolutionising how businesses and
institutions approach problem-solving
and decision-making. Embracing this
technology responsibly and harnessing
its potential to address complex
challenges will undoubtedly be the
key to unlocking a brighter, more
efficient, and sustainable future
across industries.
THEORSOCIETY.COM
 THE
OPERATIONAL
RESEARCH
SOCIETY

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