The OR Society is delighted to announce the winners of the 2008 May Hicks prize for best student project.

The winner is Joanna Knight from Southampton University (and now working at Dstl). Joanna will be receiving a cheque for £1000. The runner-up is Kirsty Franks, an undergraduate from Strathclyde University, who will receive a cheque for £250. A more detailed article will follow, with pictures of Joanna being presented with the prize. 

Congratulations to all three winners.

The OR Society is delighted to announce the winners of the 2007 May Hicks prize for best post-graduate project.

The winner is Jessica Headey from Lancaster University. Jessica will be receiving a cheque for £1000. The two runners-up are Matthew Archbold ( Lancaster University), and Ben Causley ( Southampton), both of whom will receive cheques for £250. The judges commented on the very high standard of all entries and the significant impacts made upon their clients. The variety and challenge of the work undertaken reflects highly on the vibrancy and health of OR in the UK and the talent of those entering the profession.

Jessica’s project focused on assessing the cost-effectiveness of a new device for detecting colorectal cancer for Colonix Ltd in conjuction with Sheffield School for Health and Related Research (ScHARR). This cancer accounts for over ten percent of all cancer deaths. Jessica’s work involved structuring the diagnostic process and then formulating a model to assess its cost benefit in comparison with alternatives. Her clients congratulated Jessica on her treatment of a complex and challenging problem, which resulted in identifying clear potential clinical benefits. The awarding panel were highly impressed with her achievement.

Congratulations to all three winners.

The OR Society is delighted to announce the winners of the 2006 May Hicks prize for best post-graduate project.

The winner is Sindri Sigurjonsson from LSE. Sindri will be receiving a cheque for £800. The two runners-up are Jonathan Vickers (Warwick University) and Tom Monks (Lancaster University), both of whom will receive cheques for £200. The judges commented on the very high standard of all twelve entries.

Sindri's project centred around the implementation of standard costing at Activis HF in Iceland, part of the Activis Group. The Group is the fifth largest generic pharmaceutical company with revenues of about 1.4 billion Euros in 2006. Perhaps the project report’s most important contribution is the changes it has made in the mentality of Actavis HF’s management team from the terms of product and business process cost analysis. The report has provided a pathway for the changes required to understand, measure and reduce costs of production, enabling Actavis HF to become a better contender against other production sites in markets with considerably lower labour costs.

Congratulations to all three winners.

The May Hicks Prize for the best MSc project in 2005 is awarded to Paul Radford (Southampton University) for work on credit risk with the Inland Revenue.

The runner up prizes were awarded to Amy Searle (Southampton University) for work on diabetes patients in India and Laura Duncan (Lancaster University) for forecasting slow moving inventory for the RAF.