Professors win prestigious Goodeve Medal

Cardiff Business School Professors Bahman Rostami-Tabar and Aris Syntetos have been awarded the 2024 Goodeve Medal by the Operational Research (OR) Society.

The accolade recognises their groundbreaking research published in the Journal of the Operational Research Society (JORS).

The winning paper, “To aggregate or not to aggregate: Forecasting of finite autocorrelated demand,”  led by Professor Rostami-Tabar, and co-authored with Professor Zied Babai from France's Kedge Business School and Professor  Syntetos, tackles a key challenge in demand forecasting: temporal aggregation. This process of grouping data into larger time intervals- weekly instead of daily - has significant implications for decision-making in healthcare and supply chains.

The study provides practical insights into how factors such as autocorrelation, forecast horizon, and series length influence forecasting accuracy. Supported by robust empirical evidence, their findings offer practical recommendations for real-world applications.

Celebrating operational research excellence

Founded in 1948, the OR Society is the world's first operational research organisation, celebrating innovation in solving complex management and operational issues.

Presented at the Royal Society in London on 5 December 2024, the Goodeve Medal honours the year’s most outstanding research published in the Journal of the Operational Research Society (JORS)

The award reaffirms Cardiff Business School’s leadership in driving impactful and globally significant research in the operational research field.

Professor Rostami-Tabar leads the Data Lab for Social Good, while Professor Syntetos heads the PARC Institute of Manufacturing, Logistics, and Inventory. Both institutions focus on addressing critical global challenges, from healthcare and sustainability to supply chains and the circular economy, equipping us with the knowledge to navigate an uncertain future.