François Soumis Award

The award pays tribute to Professor François Soumis, a pillar of GERAD since its founding, director from 1992 to 1996, and a leading figure in operations research in Quebec and internationally. A visionary researcher and passionate collaborator, he has trained more than 170 students and made a decisive contribution to the development of decomposition methods, notably through the creation of the first column generation algorithms, which led to the GENCOL software used worldwide. Co-founder of AD OPT Technologies, holder of a Canada Research Chair, and founding director of IVADO, he played a major role in promoting optimization and artificial intelligence. Generous, committed, and driven by an unwavering passion for research, François Soumis leaves a deep mark on our community. This award honors his outstanding contribution and perpetuates the lasting impact of his work.

This award recognizes the quality of a paper written or co-written by a graduate student and presenting a mathematical-programming-based methodology to solve a combinatorial optimization problem. The winner will receive $1,000.

Candidates must submit their application by March 1, 2026. From the eligible applications, the selection committee will choose three individuals who will be invited to present their paper in a session dedicated to this competition at the 2026 Optimization Days. The selection committee will announce the winner at the 2026 Optimization Days Wine & Cheese Reception.

Eligibility criteria are:

• Students enrolled in a master's or doctoral program at a Quebec university in 2025 (not necessarily a member of GERAD);
• Paper written by this person as part of their master's or doctoral program, which must have been published, accepted, or submitted between January 1, 2025, and February 28, 2026;
• The student must present this paper in a dedicated session at the 2026 Optimization Days.

An application file includes:

• Nomination form (click here);
• Paper and proof of submission/acceptance if not yet published;
• Proof of enrollment (e.g., transcript) at a Quebec university in 2025, including the name of the program.

Note: The paper may not be submitted again to a future edition of this competition. 

The evaluation criteria considered are:

• Quality of the paper: presentation, topic studied, methodological contribution, quality of experimental results, and impact of the work;
• Quality and clarity of the presentation at the Optimization Days.

In 2026, the selection committee is composed of:

• Marilène Cherkesly, UQÀM
• Guy Desaulniers, Polytechnique Montréal
• Issmail El Hallaoui, Polytechnique Montréal

Dates:

• Application deadline: March 1, 2026
• Announcement of the three selected candidates: March 16, 2026
• Session at the Optimization Days: May 11, 2026
• Announcement of the winner: May 11 at the Wine & Cheese Reception