On September 16, 2024, our institute invited Professor Zhang Zhe from Western Washington University (USA) and Simon Fraser University (Canada) to deliver an academic lecture as part of the "Nankai Institute of Economics Academic Lecture Series." The lecture, titled "JORS and OR Journal Development - History, Current State, and Future Projection," was hosted by Professor Li Xiang from our Modern Logistics Research Center.

Professor Zhang Zhe began by providing an overview of the leading journals in the fields of management science and operations research, with a particular focus on the Journal of the Operational Research Society (JORS), a long-established and highly authoritative publication. He gave a detailed account of JORS’s development history, current status, and future prospects. Professor Zhang highlighted the positioning of journals within the OR-MS field and provided an in-depth analysis of key evaluation metrics such as impact factor (IF), citation half-life (CHL), and H-index, offering insights on how to accurately assess the quality and influence of academic journals.

He also shared valuable experiences from his tenure as editor-in-chief of JORS, offering practical advice on how to streamline the process of publishing papers. He encouraged the faculty and students to select appropriate journals for submission based on their research areas. Professor Zhang specifically noted the growing trend of interdisciplinary research in operations management and recommended that future studies actively explore the integration of game theory, machine learning, and data analytics to drive innovation and development in operations research and management science.

During the discussion session, Professor Zhang Zhe engaged in a lively exchange with the faculty and students in attendance. Several participants raised questions regarding how to write and publish high-quality, high-level academic papers. Professor Zhang provided comprehensive answers to each question.

The "Nankai Institute of Economics Academic Lecture Series" is an academic exchange platform established by our institute in 2021. Each session invites experts and scholars for discussions, open to all faculty and students, through a combination of online and in-person formats. This lecture series fosters collaboration and resource sharing within and outside the university, broadening the academic horizons of our faculty and students and enhancing the institute's academic influence.