SIG: History of OR in SA webinar

The early years of operations research in South Africa – a personal perspective

Activities in operations research in various fields in South Africa from 1950 until 1974, fifty years ago, are discussed. This includes descriptions of applications of operations research and information regarding the establishment in 1963 of a section for operations research in the National Research Institute for Mathematical Sciences at the CSIR in Pretoria. Gradually courses in operations research in various forms were introduced at some universities. Discussion groups on operations research were active in Johannesburg and Cape Town in the late 1960s. A National Co-ordinating Committee for Operations Research was elected in 1968 and through their efforts the founding conference of the Operations Research Society of South Africa (ORSSA) was held in Johannesburg in 1969. Three early ORSSA chapters were formed in Johannesburg (1970), Pretoria (1970) and Cape Town (1972). The contributions of several individuals in those…