Frits C.R. Spieksma

Prof. Frits C.R. Spieksma is a full professor in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), where he leads research within the Combinatorial Optimization Group. He has held academic positions at Maastricht University, KU Leuven, and the University of British Columbia, and has been at TU/e since 2018.

Education:

• M.Sc. in Econometrics, University of Groningen (1987)
• Ph.D. in Operations Research, Maastricht University (1992)

Research Focus:
His work lies at the intersection of combinatorial optimization and real-world applications. Key themes include:

• Scheduling and clustering problems, especially in sports tournaments
• Organ allocation optimization for Eurotransplant
• Assignment and transportation problems
• Approximation algorithms and graph-theoretic optimization

Scientific Service & Leadership:

• Founder and ex-Chair, EURO Working Group OR in Sports
• Member, Steering Committees of MAPSP and MathSports International
• President, EURO (Association of European Operational Research Societies)
• Former Vice-President, IFORS
• Former President, Belgian Society of Operations Research (ORBEL)

Editorial Boards:

• Associate Editor, 4OR (2015–present)
• Associate Editor, Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports (2014–present)
• Associate Editor, Operations Research Letters (2008–2024)
• Former Associate Editor, INFORMS Transactions on Education, OMEGA, Computers & Operations Research, IIE Transactions, Naval Research Logistics

PhD Supervision & Mentoring:
He has supervised more than 25 PhD theses at KU Leuven and TU/e, many of whom now hold academic positions worldwide.

Conference & Workshop Organisation:
Recent leadership roles include General Chair of IPCO 2022 (Eindhoven), organiser of Benders Day 2024, and co-organiser of the Dagstuhl Seminar on Fairness in Scheduling and Resource Allocation (March 2025).