Professor Bart Baesens is awarded the Lyn Thomas Impact Medal
Professor Bart Baesens has been awarded the Lyn Thomas Impact Medal by the Operational Research Society. He was recognized for his work on real-world applications of machine learning and AI, including financial modelling, credit risk scoring, and fraud detection.
Professor Bart Baesens has been awarded the Lyn Thomas Impact Medal by the Operational Research Society. He was recognized for his work on real-world applications of machine learning and AI, including financial modelling, credit risk scoring, and fraud detection.
He has developed innovative methods to support managerial decisions by enhancing the interpretability of complex AI models, and addressing issues of bias, fairness, and inclusivity.
Bart’s methods for fraud and anomaly detection are used worldwide by finance firms and banks such as Allianz, BNP Paribas, Fortis, KBC and ING. His research on using telephone company data for credit scoring has enabled many disadvantaged people without a credit history to secure loans, especially in developing countries, where historical financial data are often unavailable.
Committed to disseminating knowledge, Bart’s YouTube channel offers over 120 free video lectures and has over 13,000 subscribers. He issues a fortnightly newsletter to over 2,000 international industry contacts, and has delivered more than 100 courses for international firms, institutions, consulting companies, and regulators.
His industry courses have been positively evaluated by thousands of practitioners, and his research has inspired policy papers by regulatory authorities and institutes worldwide. His books are not only used as academic textbooks, but also serve as practical guidelines for practitioners developing and refining their credit risk, fraud and database models.
The BlueCourses online learning initiative has led to collaborations with environmental organisations like Waste Free Oceans and WWF. He has also worked with commercial citrus orchards in Valencia, Spain on smart agriculture, to predict soil water potential as a key indicator for sustainable irrigation.
Thomas's influence on my research career has been profound and shapes my work up until this very day.
Having previously been awarded the 2014 EJOR Application Paper award, the 2017 EJOR Theory and Methodology award, and the 2016 Goodeve Medal, his research was directly inspired by Lyn Thomas. She was the external examiner of his PhD in 2003, and they worked together until Lyn’s untimely death in 2016.