Dr. George L. Nemhauser, one of the world's foremost experts on discrete optimization, was honored at the Optimization Research Symposium: Recognizing Professor George Nemhauser's Contributions to the Field of Operations Research at the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center on July 26-27. The two-day event included tributes to Nemhauser as his fellow researchers roasted and toasted him as well as presentations highlighting the depth and breath of the contributions he has made to the field of operations research.

Dr. Michael Ball, Orkand Corporation Professor of Management Science in the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, served as moderator of the symposium.

"I felt the symposium was a resounding success,* Ball commented. "We had participants come from literally around the world, including Asia, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The enthusiasm of the speakers and participants clearly demonstrated the respect the scientific community has for George's professional accomplishments and for him as a person."

Colleagues discussed Nemhauser's work in the areas of integer programming, combinatorial optimization, airline optimization, and sports scheduling, focusing on the tremendous impact his work has made and continues to make in this field.

Guest speakers included:
* Cindy Barnhart, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
* Bob Bixby, Rice University, Houston, TX
* Gerard Cornuejols, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
* Bill Cunningham, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada
* Marshall Fisher, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
* Dave Goldsman, Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA
* Ralph Gomory, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, New York, NY
* Martin Groetschel, Konrad-Zuse-Zentrum, Berlin, Germany
* John Jarvis, Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA
* Tom Magnanti, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
* Bill Pulleyblank, IBM, Somers, NY
* Don Ratliff, Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA
* David Ryan, Auckland University, Auckland, New Zealand
* Michael Trick, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
* Mike Thomas, Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA
* Chelsea C. White III, Stewart School of ISyE, Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA
* Laurence Wolsey, CORE, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium

Event organizers were Michael Ball, University of Maryland, and Martin Savelsbergh, Georgia Tech. Sponsors included the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia Tech; the Supply Chain and Logistics Institute at Georgia Tech, and the Center for Electronic Markets and Enterprises (CEME), Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland.