Laurence Alexander Wolsey, born in London in 1945, established a distinguished career as a mathematician specializing in integer programming and operations research. Holding citizenship in the United Kingdom, he completed his advanced academic training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, eventually becoming a professor emeritus at the Université catholique de Louvain in Belgium.
Academic Foundation
Wolsey earned a Master of Science in mathematics from Cambridge in 1966. He subsequently pursued doctoral studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, completing his Ph.D. in 1969 under the academic supervision of Jeremy F. Shapiro. His early professional path included a position as a visiting researcher at the Manchester Business School between 1969 and 1971.
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In 1971, Wolsey moved to Belgium upon an invitation from George L. Nemhauser to work at the Center for Operations Research and Econometrics. Over the following decades, he served as both president and research director for the institution. During his tenure in Belgium, he maintained international academic ties, holding visiting professorships at the London School of Economics, Cornell University, Ecole polytechnique de Lausanne, and the University of Utrecht.
Contributions to Integer Programming
His research focuses on submodular optimization, duality theory, and the polyhedral analysis of production planning models and fixed-charge network flow. Between 1999 and 2003, he directed editorial activities for the journal Mathematical Programming. He has authored several texts, including Integer and Combinatorial Optimization, co-written with Nemhauser, and Production Planning by Mixed Integer Programming with Yves Pochet.
Distinctions and Recognition
The mathematical community has recognized his body of work through numerous awards. He received the Beale-Orchard Hays Prize in 1988 and the Frederick W. Lanchester Prize in 1989. In 1994, he was awarded the EURO Gold Medal. His career achievements were further highlighted in 2012 when he was honored with both the John von Neumann Theory Prize and the George B. Dantzig Prize.
Fast facts
- Born: 1945, London
- Citizenship: United Kingdom
- Doctoral Institution: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Primary Field: Integer programming
- Editor-in-chief: Mathematical Programming (1999–2003)
- John von Neumann Theory Prize recipient: 2012
- George B. Dantzig Prize recipient: 2012
- Frederick W. Lanchester Prize recipient: 1989
Questions readers ask
Where did Laurence Wolsey conduct most of his academic career?
He spent much of his professional life in Belgium, specifically at the Center for Operations Research and Econometrics and the Université catholique de Louvain.
What is the ORBEL Wolsey award?
It is a Belgian prize established to recognize the most significant and effective implementation of operations research in open-source software during a given year.
Achievements
- The George B. Dantzig Prize — 2012
- John von Neumann Theory Prize — 2012
- Frederick W. Lanchester Prize — 1989
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