Ali Abbas (Photo/Courtesy of USC)
The hardest decisions rarely come with clear answers. Whether weighing competing priorities, managing risk or choosing among imperfect options, people often must make decisions without having all the information they would like. For more than three decades, Ali Abbas has devoted his career to improving how those decisions are made.
That work has earned Abbas, professor of industrial and systems engineering in the USC Viterbi Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and professor of public policy at the USC Price School of Public Policy, the 2026 Frank P. Ramsey Medal from the Informs Decision Analysis Society. The award is the society’s highest honor, recognizing distinguished contributions to the field of decision analysis. Named for British mathematician Frank P. Ramsey, whose landmark work helped establish modern decision theory, the award recognizes researchers whose work has had a lasting impact on the discipline.
“It is especially meaningful because it comes from colleagues in the decision analysis community with whom I have had the pleasure of interacting with on various occasions throughout my career,” Abbas said. “Decision analysis is a field built on the exchange of ideas, collaboration and mentorship, so I see this award not only as recognition of my own work but also of the many students, collaborators and mentors who have influenced my thinking over the years.”
