News

MSE students earned multiple awards at the 2025 Canadian Operational Research Society (CORS) Conference in Edmonton.  Waterloo students received Bronze Level Recognition, while undergraduates Matthew Chan, Adel Pazoki, Aniq Premji, Sunischit Thapa, and Larissa Troper were runners-up in the national Student Paper Competition.

Individual accolades went to Esma Akgun and Mina Torabi Milani, both earning runner-up awards for their research.

A paper by a team of Management Science and Engineering researchers recently received an Honorable Mention (Top 4 Finalist) at the prestigious POMS College of Healthcare Operations Management (CHOM) Best Paper Award. The paper addresses the challenge of hospital-acquired Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which affects approximately 20,000 Canadians annually.

Professor Mehrdad Pirnia was recently featured in an interview on CBC Radio’s The Morning Edition – K-W. In the segment, Professor Pirnia discussed the promising future of short-range electric aircraft, including new research and battery testing that could make regional electric flights a reality sooner than expected.

A paper co-authored by Management Science and Engineering professor Lukasz Golab and his Data Science Master’s student Anastasiia Avksientieva won the best demo paper award at the 2025 International Conference on Extending Data Base Technology (EDBT).  

The Waterloo Chapter of the Institute of Industrial & Systems Engineers (IISE), which is led by management engineering students, won several prizes at the most recent IISE Regional Student Conference hosted by Laval University in Quebec City. These included first prize in the technical paper competition, first prize in the Capsize competition, and third prize in the simulation competition.

Prof. Mahmoudzadeh was a recipient of the Faculty of Engineering Teaching Excellence Award. She was recognized for her exceptional dedication to student learning and pedagogical innovation. 

The Department of Management Science and Engineering recently gathered to celebrate the remarkable career and well-deserved retirement of Professor James Bookbinder. Throughout his distinguished career, Prof. Bookbinder has made extraordinary contributions to the field of operational research and transportation logistics, leaving an indelible mark on both academia and industry.

As the founding Executive Director of the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy (WISE) and an esteemed faculty member at the University of Waterloo, Prof. Nathwani has dedicated his professional life to shaping the future of sustainable energy.

Dr. James Bookbinder was the recipient of the 2024 Award of Merit from the Canadian Operational Research Society (CORS).

CORS brings together operational research professionals with annual conferences held across Canada, special interest groups, traveling speaker programs and student support. The Award of Merit is presented annually to a current or past member of CORS in recognition of significant contributions to the profession of operational research.

A team of Management Engineering students won first place in Canadian Operational Research Society’s (CORS) Undergraduate Student Paper Competition. Claudia De Fazio, Anika Gapczynski, Chloe Pilon, Kayley Brash, Michaela Trevisan received the award for their paper titled, “Inventory Slotting Optimization for Stable Palletization in Distribution Centres”. The team’s winning entry was drawn from their final-year Capstone project and focuses on increasing the efficiency of the palletization process.