This Symposium is held in memory of Professor M.C.Puri who taught at Hans Raj College before joining Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, in 1984. He was a distinguished teacher and a dedicated researcher who was actively involved in research till his tragic end. Ironically he succumbed to terrorist bullets while attending the 38th Annual Convention of Operational Research Society of India at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore on 28th December 2005. This symposium aims at organizing invited talks and paper presentations by colleagues and students of Professor Puri. The symposium is open to academicians and practitioners working in the broad area of optimization.