Professor Dick Den Hertog Wins the Impact Award 2023

Last week, Prof. Dick den Hertog, Professor of Operations Research at the University of Amsterdam and proud Founder of the Analytics for a Better World institute, has been awarded the Impact Award in the Society category!

The Impact Award is part of the Amsterdam Science & Innovation Awards, an Amsterdam-based competition recognising research-based innovative ideas and impactful innovations. The 2023 Impact Awards is presented for innovative research that has an impact on resolving challenges facing society. There are 3 categories: Health, Society, and the Environment.

To present the work of Prof. den Hertog, the Impact Award team has created this inspiring video:

Congratulations Professor! At ABW, we are very proud to learn from such an inspiring individual, and we are looking forward to see how you will keep making the world a better place!

About Prof. Dick den Hertog

Professor Dick den Hertog, specializing in Operations Research at the University of Amsterdam, demonstrates that mathematical optimization offers solutions for a diverse range of societal challenges. These include optimizing dike heights in the Netherlands, determining hospital locations in countries like Timor-Leste and Vietnam, and refining the food chains of the World Food Programme through the innovative Optimus model he developed. Currently engaged with The Ocean Cleanup, he focuses on optimizing sailing strategies to efficiently extract plastic from the ocean within a specific timeframe. Prof. Den Hertog emphasizes the complexity of decision-making in these scenarios and highlights how advanced mathematical techniques can swiftly identify the optimal solution, preventing the need to exhaustively explore all possibilities. Motivated by the desire to ensure the practical application and impact of research findings, he has established the Analytics for a Better World Institute.