Dr. Ariela Sofer is Interim Divisional Dean of the Volgenau School of Engineering in the College of Engineering and Computing at George Mason University. She has previously served as Associate Dean for Administration and Faculty Affairs in the College (2017-2020) and as Chair of the Systems Engineering and Operations Research Department (2002-2017). She is coauthor of the textbook “Linear and Nonlinear Optimization” McGraw Hill, 1996 and SIAM Books 2008, coeditor of three volumes, author /coauthor of over refereed 40 publications, and author of a chapter in the IFEES-sponsored book “Rising to the Top.” Her research has been sponsored by the US National Science Foundation and the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research. Dr. Sofer was elected Fellow of the Institute of Operations Research and Management Science (INFORMS) in 2016, and Fellow of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) in 2018.

Dr. Sofer is in her second term as a member of the Executive Committee of IFEES. She has served as Director of Academic Matters (2017-2020) on the Board of the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE). She has also held Board positions as Secretary of IISE and as Vice President for Sections and Societies of INFORMS. She has also served as Chair of the Association of Chairs of Operations Research Departments (ACORD), as Chair of the INFORMS Computing Society, and as Secretary/Treasurer of the SIAM Special Interest Group on Optimization. She was the General Co-Chair of the 2020 INFORMS Annual Meeting (held online) that attracted over 5,500 registered participants. On a personnel level, she has lived in 3 continents and travelled to 6, loves to travel, garden, and dance ballroom and salsa.