Sheldon Howard Jacobson, Ph.D.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

 

Honors, Awards, and Recognitions

National

2002, Aviation Security Research Award, Aviation Security International (with J.E. Kobza), for outstanding research contributions to aviation security operations.

2003, Guggenheim Fellowship, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, for his research on aviation security.

2010, Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation Homeland Security Award (Runner-Up), Border and Transportation Security, for his contributions to risk-based security and its influence on airport security.

Professional Societies

1998, Application Award, Operations Research Division, Institute of Industrial Engineers, 1998 (with J.E. Kobza), for outstanding contributions to aviation security.

2003, Operations Research Meritorious Service Award, Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), for dedicated service to INFORMS journals.

2004, 2007, INFORMS Health Applications Section Pierskalla Best Paper Award, Finalist, for outstanding health applications of operations research.

2009, Outstanding IIE Publication Award, Institute of Industrial Engineers, (with L.A. McLay), for outstanding contributions to aviation security.

2010, Award for Technical Innovation in Industrial Engineering, Institute of Industrial Engineers, (with E.C. Sewell), for innovative contributions to pediatric vaccine economics research.

2011, Fellow, Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE), for outstanding lifelong contributions to the field of Industrial and Systems Engineering.

2011, Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Operations Research, Institute of Industrial Engineers Operations Research Division, for outstanding contributions to education.

2013, Award for Technical Innovation in Industrial Engineering, Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE), for innovative contributions to risk-based aviation security research and its influence on the design of TSA PreCheck.

2013, Fellow, Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), for outstanding lifelong contributions to the field of Operations Research.

2015-2016, Treasurer (Elected), Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences.

2017, David F. Baker Distinguished Research Award, Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE), for outstanding lifelong research contributions to the field of field of Industrial and Systems Engineering.  This is the highest research honor within Industrial and Systems Engineering. 

2018, INFORMS Impact Award, Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) (with K.C. Fletcher, L.A. Albert, A.G. Nikolaev, A.J. Lee), for outstanding applications and contributions to risk-based security and its influence on the design of TSA PreCheck.

2020, Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), for outstanding lifelong contributions in the field of engineering, the influence of his research on public policy, and his unparalleled distinguished contributions on science communication.

2020, Volunteer Service Award, Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), for distinguished service to the INFORMS community.

2020, George E. Kimball Medal, Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), for distinguished service to advance the field of operations research.

2020, Saul Gass Expository Writing Award, Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), for outstanding expository writing in the field of operations research. This is the highest honor for technical writing in the INFORMS community.

2020, Omega Rho Plenary, INFORMS National Meeting, November 2020, for distinguished research delivered during the annual meeting plenary.

2023, Clayton J. Thomas Award, Military Operations Research Society (MORS), for distinguished and impactful career contributions to aviation security and the design of TSA PreCheck. This is the highest honor for research contributions and impact within MORS. 

2023, President’s Award, Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), for outstanding career contributions that benefited society and the public good. This is the highest honor for societal contributions in the INFORMS community. 

2024, J. Steinhardt Prize, Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) Military and Security Section, for distinguished and impactful career contributions to aviation security and the design of TSA PreCheck.

Conferences and Journals

1997, Best Paper Award, Industrial Simulation Track, European Simulation Multiconference, Istanbul, Turkey, 1997.

2003, Best Paper Award, IIE Transactions Focused area on Operations Engineering, (with J.E. Kobza, A.E. Easterling).

2011, Best Paper Award, Honorable Mention, Computational Optimization and Applications.

2012, Best Paper Award, Finalist, INFORMS Section for Public Programs, Services and Needs, 2012 (with D.M. King, E.C. Sewell).

2012, INFORMS Innovations in Analytics Award, Semi-Finalist, (with D.M. King).

2012, Top-5 Papers (of 149) Published in Journal of Global Optimization (Sewell, E.C., Sauppe, J.J., Morrison, D.M., Jacobson, S.H., Kao, G.K., 2012, “Minimizing Total Tardiness for the Single Machine with Sequence Dependent Setup Time Problem Using the BB&R Algorithm,” Journal of Global Optimization, 54(4), 791-812).

2014, Best Research Poster (First Place), Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine (APDIM) Spring 2014 Conference, Annual Rotation Schedules in 45 Seconds: Simplifying Life for an Internal Medicine Residency Program” (with D.R. Morrison, J.T. Fairbank, J.A. Jokela).

2018, Best Paper Award, Honorable Mention, INFORMS Public Sector Operations Research, (with R. Swamy, D.M. King).

2018, First Place, INFORMS National Meeting Poster Competition, “Political Districting with Fairness Objectives: An Optimization-Based Framework” (with R. Swamy, D.M. King).

2019, First Place, Service Sciences Best Paper Award, INFORMS National Meeting (with R. Swamy, D.M. King), “Multi-objective Optimization for Political Districting: A Scalable Multi-level Approach.” 

University

2002-2003, Associate, Center for Advanced Study, University of Illinois.

2002-2008, Willett Faculty Scholar, College of Engineering, University of Illinois.

2006, Award of Excellence (“College or University” and “Video News Release” Categories) for “Aviation Security: Researching the Risk,” 13th Annual Communicator’s Award Competition (with WILL-TV).

“List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students,” University of Illinois, IE410: Stochastic Processes and its Applications, Fall 2006, Fall 2007, Fall 2008, Fall 2010.

“List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students,” University of Illinois, IE413: Computer Simulation, Spring 2006, Spring 2007, Spring 2008, Spring 2010.

2013, University of Illinois Office of Public Affairs Award for Communications & Marketing Excellence - Media Relations.

2017-2027, Grainger Engineering Breakthroughs Initiative’s (GEBI) Founder Professor in Engineering.

2024, Campus Excellence in Public Engagement Distinguished Award, University of Illinois, for outstanding and sustained career public engagement contributions.  This is the highest honor for public engagement within the University of Illinois.

 

Last Updated: 28 February 2025