Elsie Cropper Award at New to OR

The Elsie Cropper Shield was instituted in memory of Elsie May Cropper, a senior member of the Operational Research Executive of British Coal, who died in service in 1989 at the age of 44. Elsie had always been a strong supporter of young and trainee OR staff, especially in their further development.

Elsie Cropper Shield for the Best Paper at New to OR

All presenters at New to OR are eligible for consideration, except for Plenary Speakers, those giving tutorials or workshops and those who would not normally be eligible to attend the New to OR conference.

All delegates are invited to rate the presentations that they attend, using a pro-forma which is available at each session. The session chair will collect the voting papers at the end of each session and pass them on to the committee. The organising chair will appoint two judges, one of whom will be a member of the organising committee. The judges will scrutinise the voting papers and decide on the winner.

The following criteria will be used as guidelines:

1. Impact of the work – both quantitative and qualitative. For example, does the work have current/potential demonstrable benefits; has it resulted in a better understanding of the problem area or improved management practices?
2. Technical Content – for example, appropriate choice of techniques/methodologies.
3. Quality of presentation – for example, logical structure, clear slides etc.

The winner will have their name inscribed on the Elsie Cropper Shield and will be invited to attend the Blackett Lecture in November at which the shield will be formally presented.

The winner will also receive a commemorative plaque. The winner of the Shield will be announced on the last day of the conference after all eligible talks have been presented.

Elsie Cropper Shield: Previous Winners