Xpress Best Paper Award

The Xpress Best Paper Award acknowledges outstanding papers in the area of Operations Research, Mathematical Optimization and related fields.

The winning paper must contain significant research contributions for which the usage of FICO Xpress Optimization products played a major role.

The award consists of a $1,500 cash prize and the winners are selected by a committee consisting of five members, chaired by a member of the Xpress Optimization team.

Chair: Timo Berthold (FICO)

Members:
Ambros Gleixner (HTW Berlin)
Stefano Gualandi (Università di Pavia)
Ivana Ljubic (ESSEC Business School, Paris)
Layla Martin (Eindhoven University of Technology)

Former Members:
Thorsten Koch (TU Berlin, ZIB)
Jeff Linderoth (University of Wisconsin–Madison)
Gonzalo Muñoz (Universidad de O’Higgins)
Domenico Salvagnin (University of Padova)

To be eligible, a paper should have been published in English in a peer-reviewed journal, or in a comparable, well-refereed volume, in the time between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2026.

Online first publications in named journals or volumes are eligible.

Papers co-authored by FICO employees or by members of the award committee are not eligible to receive the award.

The author(s) of the winning paper are obliged to contribute a two-page popular scientific write-up of their research results to be published in the FICO Optimization Blog.

We invite you to nominate or self-nominate papers for the Xpress Best Paper Award 2026. The nomination deadline is February 14, 2027, 23:59.

The submission needs to include a copy of the paper, an exact citation where and when it has been published and a short statement on the usage of FICO Xpress Optimization products in the paper.

Winners will be announced by May 31, 2027.

Please use the following e-mail address for submissions: Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist vor Spambots geschützt! Zur Anzeige muss JavaScript eingeschaltet sein. (Subject: Xpress Award Application / Applicant name).

Winner Xpress Best Paper Award 2026: M. Kaut.
“Handling of long-term storage in multi-horizon stochastic programs.”

Runner-Up Xpress Best Paper Award 2026: J. G. Villegas et al.
“Supply Chain (Re)Design and Pricing for Biomass Ash
Valorization as Supplementary Cementitious Materials.” 

Winner Xpress Best Paper Award 2025: Hirwa, Jusse, et al. "Optimizing design and dispatch of a resilient renewable energy microgrid for a South African hospital." Optimizing design and dispatch of a resilient renewable energy microgrid for a South African hospital - ScienceDirect

Runner-Up Xpress Best Paper Award 2025: Niknam, Pouriya H., et al. "Optimally integrated waste heat recovery through combined emerging thermal technologies: Modelling, optimization and assessment for onboard multi-energy systems." Optimally integrated waste heat recovery through combined emerging thermal technologies: Modelling, optimization and assessment for onboard multi-energy systems - ScienceDirect

Winner Xpress Best Paper Award  2024: Feasibility Jump: an LP-free Lagrangian MIP heuristic | Mathematical Programming Computation (springer.com)

Runner-Up Xpress Best Paper Award  2024: Scalable timing-aware network design via lagrangian decomposition - ScienceDirect

Winner Xpress Best Paper Award 2023:
Moreira, A., Pozo, D., Street, A., Sauma, E., & Strbac, G. (2021). Climate‐aware generation and transmission expansion planning: A three‐stage robust optimization approach. European Journal of Operational Research, 295(3), 1099-1118.

Runner-Up Xpress Best Paper Award 2023:
Bouzekri, H., Alpan, G., & Giard, V. (2021). Integrated Laycan and Berth Allocation and time-invariant Quay Crane Assignment Problem in tidal ports with multiple quays. European Journal of Operational Research, 293(3), 892–909.