Ralph Keeney and Howard Raiffa received the 2002 INFORMS Expository Writing Award for their publications in operations research and the management sciences that have set an exemplary standard of exposition.

Prize Committee Member Matthew Sobel, who made the presentation at the INFORMS meeting in San Jose, read the following citation:

"Beginning with the publication in 1976 of their book, 'Decisions with Multiple Objectives: Preferences and Value Tradeoffs,' Keeney and Raiffa have played a crucial role in making decision science a recognized discipline within operations research and the management sciences. Their concerns have spanned the field of decision science, covering approaches for identifying alternatives as well as methods for making a choice between alternatives. Their expository writing has been impressively clear and well organized, with a style that is inviting and well suited to communicating the concepts and techniques of decision science to a wider audience than the usual one consisting of specialists reading journal articles. This commitment is particularly evident in their 1998 book (joint with John Hammond), 'Smart Choices: A Practical Guide to Making Better Decisions.'

"At a time when INFORMS is focusing on educating the general public on the power of scientifically grounded decision-making, it is particularly appropriate that the INFORMS Award for Expository Writing should recognize Keeney and Raiffa for their significant contributions to this goal over the past three decades."

Keeney quipped that the trick to outstanding expository writing, at least from his perspective, was writing with Howard Raiffa. Raiffa couldn't attend the meeting due to a scheduling conflict.

"From Howard I learned that you ought to figure out what it is you want to write, and then make sure it says that," Keeney said.



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