PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Manuel Laguna

Manuel Laguna is a management science professor whose research on optimization methods sits at the interface of computer science, artificial intelligence and operations research. In 1990, he earned a doctorate in operations research and industrial engineering at the University of Texas at Austin and began his academic career at the University of Colorado. With Colorado colleagues James Kelly and Fred Glover, he co-founded OptTek Systems and its OptQuest optimization system in 1996, and with Glover he published the book Tabu Search in 1997. He was general chair of a national meeting of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences in 2004 and interim dean of the Leeds School of Business from 2009 to 2011. Since June 2025, he is Professor Emeritus and Faculty Associate for Global Engagement at the University of Colorado Boulder and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Heuristics.

Badges

Timeline

  1. 1981–1990

    Degrees in Querétaro and Austin

    He earns a bachelor's degree in industrial and systems engineering at Monterrey Tech at Querétaro, Mexico, in 1981. At the University of Texas at Austin, he earns a master's degree in 1987 and a doctorate in 1990, both in operations research and industrial engineering.

  2. 1990

    Joining the University of Colorado

    He starts his academic career at the University of Colorado in 1990. His research at the interface of computer science, artificial intelligence and operations research develops solution methods for practical problems in logistics and supply chains, telecommunications, decision-making under uncertainty and the optimization of simulated systems.

  3. 1996–1998

    Co-founding OptTek and OptQuest

    With fellow Colorado professors James Kelly and Fred Glover, he co-founds OptTek Systems and its OptQuest optimization system in 1996, built to optimize problems modeled by simulation. OptQuest is released in 1998 as a University of Colorado Boulder spinout for use with Crystal Ball simulation software.

  4. 1997

    The book Tabu Search

    In 1997, he and Fred Glover publish the book Tabu Search with Kluwer Academic Publishers in Boston. The book addresses hard optimization problems in business, engineering, economics and science that classical methods often find difficult to solve.

  5. 2004

    General chair of a national meeting

    He is general chair of the 2004 national meeting of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences.

  6. 2009–2011

    Interim dean at Leeds

    He serves as interim dean of the Leeds School of Business from November 2009, succeeding Dennis Ahlburg. David Ikenberry takes over as dean in 2011 after a national search.

  7. 2025–2026

    Reviews of tabu and scatter search

    In 2025, he writes the Tabu Search chapter of Springer's Handbook of Heuristics and coauthors an analytical review of greedy randomized adaptive search procedures with path relinking in the European Journal of Operational Research. In 2026, he coauthors the review "Scatter search: foundations and implementations" in Statistics and Operations Research Transactions.

  8. Since 2025

    Emeritus professor and journal editor

    He retires from his faculty appointment at the Leeds School of Business in June 2025. He is Professor Emeritus and Faculty Associate for Global Engagement at the University of Colorado Boulder and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Heuristics.

Career

  1. Since 2009University of Colorado BoulderInterim Dean, Professor Emeritus and Faculty Associate for Global Engagement
  2. From 1996OptTek SystemsCo-founder
  3. From 1990University of Colorado

Education

  1. 1990University of Texas at AustinDoctorate
  2. 1987University of Texas at AustinMaster's degree
  3. 1981Tecnológico de MonterreyBachelor's degree

From the biography.

  1. 11% of AI doctorate holders from 2010 to 2016 founded or led a company or lab by 10 years after graduationIncludes Manuel Laguna. We estimate how often AI doctorate holders founded or led a company or lab by 10 years after graduation, how waiting times compare between founders and top jobs, and which universities trained the most.
  2. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes University of Colorado. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  3. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes University of Colorado. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  4. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes University of Colorado. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Manuel Laguna yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Manuel Laguna | Center for Asian Studies | University of Colorado Boulder colorado.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. Home | Manuel Laguna | University of Colorado Boulder colorado.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. Manuel Laguna | Global Engagement Office | University of Colorado Boulder colorado.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. About OptTek - Solving challenges through optimization and analytics opttek.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. OptQuest - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  6. OPAC lib.s.kaiyodai.ac.jp. Checked 21 October 2026.
  7. Books | Manuel Laguna | University of Colorado Boulder colorado.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  8. University of Illinois associate dean named dean of CU Leeds School of Business | CU Boulder Today | University of Colorado Boulder colorado.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  9. Tabu Search ideas.repec.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  10. Research | Manuel Laguna | University of Colorado Boulder colorado.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.