Prof. Ravi Ahuja

(BT/MT/PhD/ME/IME/1977/1979/1982)

Prof. Ravi Ahuja is a professor turned software entrepreneur. After spending 20+ years in academics as a teacher and researcher, he founded Optym 20+ years ago to turn his research into software products. Prof. Ahuja specializes in the theory and practical application of Network Optimization.
Prof. Ahuja entered the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur in 1972 to study Mechanical Engineering and earned a B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering in 1977. He continued his education at IIT Kanpur, earning an M.Tech in 1979 and a Ph.D. in 1982, both in Industrial & Management Engineering. Upon completing his Ph.D., he joined the faculty of Industrial & Management Engineering at IIT Kanpur and worked there from 1982 - 1996.
He was offered a visiting professorship at the Sloan School of Management at MIT in 1986, and he spent considerable time at MIT during the period 1986 - 1998. This research work resulted in widely referenced research papers and a textbook, "Network Flows: Theory, Algorithms, and Application," which he coauthored with Prof. James Orlin (MIT) and Prof. Thomas Magnanti (MIT). This book received the prestigious Frederick W. Lanchester Prize in 1993, given to the best publication of the year in the field of Operations Research and Management Science. This book is considered the bible of Network Optimization and has been used as a textbook from its publication to the current date around the world including MIT, Stanford, Carnegie-Mellon, Columbia, Georgia-Tech. Prof. Ahuja is most proud of this academic contribution.
He joined the faculty of Industrial & Systems Engineering at the University of Florida (UF), Gainesville in 1998 and stayed there until 2018 when he became Professor Emeritus. At UF, he co-authored two books, and his research received the 2003 Pierskalla Award, the 2006 Daniel H. Wagner Award, the 2007 Koopman Prize, the 2008 INFORMS Fellow Award, the 2013 Railway Applications Section Distinguished Member Award and the 2015 Florida Governor's Business Ambassador Award.
At UF, he had the opportunity to work on practical routing and scheduling problems faced by railroads and airlines. He gradually transitioned from theoretical research to solving practical business problems arising in transportation and logistics which were natural applications of his academic research in Network Optimization. In 2004, he recruited his four Ph.D. students and founded a company "Innovative Scheduling" which is now known as "Optym." Optym now has 300+ employees with its headquarters based in Dallas, Texas, and a development center based in Bangalore, India. Optym's clients include leading airlines, railroads, trucking and mining companies. Prof. Ahuja plays the role of Algorithm Designer and Architect for its SaaS products.
Honouring his pioneering contributions to Operations Research, Network Optimization, Logistics and Transportation, and his distinguished impact in translating advanced optimization research into practical solutions, IIT Kanpur confers upon Prof. Ravi Ahuja the Distinguished Alumni Award 2026 under the category of Academic Excellence.