The RNDM Best Paper Award is one of the highest recognitions in the field of resilient networks, presented annually at the International Workshop on Resilient Networks Design and Modeling since the workshop's inception.
The RNDM Best Paper Award has been a hallmark of the International Workshop on Resilient Networks Design and Modeling since its first edition in 2009. The award celebrates exceptional research that advances the theory, design, and practice of network resilience — a discipline of critical importance as modern society depends on uninterrupted, fault-tolerant communication infrastructure.
Over the years, the award has recognized a diverse range of contributions spanning optical network survivability, IP/MPLS resilience, software-defined networking reliability, AI-driven fault management, and critical infrastructure protection.
The Best Paper Award is determined through a rigorous multi-stage process led by the Technical Program Committee (TPC):
Papers are assessed against four primary criteria:
Does the paper present a novel contribution to the field? Does it introduce new concepts, models, or methodologies that advance the state of the art?
Is the methodology sound and rigorous? Are the results validated through appropriate analytical, simulation, or experimental techniques?
Is the paper well-structured and clearly written? Does it effectively communicate its contributions and findings?
Does the work address a significant problem? What is its potential to influence future research directions or practical deployments?
From RNDM 2014 onward, a separate Best Student Paper Award has been presented alongside the Best Paper Award. The student award follows the same evaluation criteria but with additional consideration for the student's role as the primary contributor and first author. Both awards are presented during the closing ceremony of each edition.
The RNDM Best Paper Award is widely regarded as a mark of distinction in the network resilience community. Winning papers frequently become highly cited references and are invited to extended versions in leading journals, including special issues of Optical Switching and Networking, Computer Networks, and IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking.
The award also reflects the interdisciplinary nature of resilience research, drawing on expertise from optical communications, IP networking, software engineering, control theory, and data science — a tradition upheld by the RNDM workshop series since 2009.