The International Society on Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) presented the 2004 awards at the 17th International Conference on MCDM in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada.

The MCDM Gold Medal is the highest honor that the Society bestows upon a scholar who, over a distinguished career, has devoted much of his talent, time and energy to advancing the field of MCDM, and who has markedly contributed to the theory, methodology and practice of MCDM. The Gold Medal was awarded to Professor William W. Cooper, University of Texas at Austin.

The MCDM Edgeworth-Pareto Award is the highest distinction that the Society bestows upon a researcher who, over his career, has established a record of creativity to the extent that the field of MCDM would not exist in its current form without the far-reaching contributions from this distinguished scholar. The award was given to Professor Raimo P. Hämäläinen, Helsinki University of Technology.

The Georg Cantor Award is the highest form of recognition that the Society bestows upon a researcher who, over his distinguished career, has personified the spirit of independent inquiry and whose many innovative ideas and achievements are decidedly reflected in the theory, methodology, and current practices of MCDM. The award was given to Professor Harold P. Benson, University of Florida.

The MCDM Presidential Service Award was presented to Professor Valerie Belton, University of Strathclyde, for her leadership, inspiration and resourcefulness as president of the International Society on MCDM from 2000 to 2004, for her commitment to public service to the MCDM professional community, and for her relentless effort in advancing the knowledge and understanding of the art and science of decision making.

The MCDM Conference Chairmanship Award was presented to Professor William C. Wedley, Simon Fraser University, for his most gracious hospitality, and for his outstanding leadership and resourcefulness in organizing, managing and chairing the Seventeenth International Conference on Multiple Criteria Decision Making, Whistler, British Columbia, Canada.

Call for Nominations The MCDM has been presenting awards at each of its meetings since 1992. The next set of awards will be presented at the 18th International Conference on MCDM in Chania, Greece, June 19-23 (www.dpem.tuc.gr/fel/mcdm2006/). The Society welcomes nominations for the following awards: 1. MCDM Gold Medal, 2. Edgeworth-Pareto Award, and 3. Georg Cantor Award. Submit nominations to: Professor Murat Köksalan, Industrial Engineering Department, Middle East Technical University, 06531 Ankara, Turkey or (preferably) by e-mail, koksalan@ie.metu.edu.tr. Contact him for further information. To assure full consideration: make the nominations by March 1; indicate the name of the nominee, why he or she is worthy of the award, his/her contributions to the field, and anything else that is relevant to the award; and provide a CV of the nominee. Awardees are expected to attend the conference and present a paper. More information concerning the awards and past awardees may be found on the Web site (http://project.hkkk.fi/MCDM/intro.html).