The Doctoral Award

The award, for the 'Most Distinguished Body of Research leading to the Award of a Doctorate in the field of OR', is an annual award, with the award being made at The OR Society’s Blackett Lecture in December.

The qualifying period is the calendar year in which the PhD or DPhil is defended or approved. For the full timetable, see the Guidelines tab. The thesis being submitted for consideration must have been examined at a UK University within the relevant time period.

With a prize fund of up to £2500 plus conference places available for the winner and runners-up, this represents an exciting development for PhD students. Initial nominations are normally from the external examiner who has identified the body of research as of exceptional quality.

The winner of the award wins a cash prize of £1500. Up to two runners-up each receive £500. The winner has their name engraved on the George Paterson shield as a permanent record of their achievement. The successful candidates are expected to present their work at the OR Society's Beale Lecture. 

The deadline for receipt of submissions is 31 March 2026.

All submissions should be to [email protected].

The 2025 winner and runners-up for this award will be announced at the Blackett Lecture.

The George Paterson Memorial Shield

2024 Doctoral Award Winner 

Joseph Farrington (UCL) for ‘Machine learning and GPU-accelerated computing applied to platelet inventory management in a hospital blood bank’

Dr Joseph Farrington’s PhD thesis is at the intersection of operational research, machine learning, and medicine, combining insights from these fields to support two key decisions for hospital blood banks: how many units of platelets to order each day (replenishment) and which units to issue to meet demand as it arises (issuing). Combining these insights with high-performance computing, Dr Farrington developed efficient and scalable solutions for hospital blood banks. The practical relevance of the research is underscored by the use of real-world data from University College London Hospitals. His work has direct implications for NHS blood banks and similar healthcare institutions worldwide, as well as for future research in the classic area of perishable inventory management. In summary, Dr Farrington’s PhD thesis exemplifies excellence in operational research by its originality, scholarly rigor, practical impact, and potential for future research. 

Runner up 2024:

Amalia Gjerloev (UCL)

For her thesis titled 'Insights into cancer care with operational research: modelling pathways from first referral to treatment start with discrete event simulation'