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A Life in Operations Research 

The Founding Fathers Remembered.

An Essay by Sten A. Thore, a colleague and friend

For some time I have been working on a book manuscript entitled A LIFE IN OPERATIONS RESEARCH. Having reached the  age of 94 years and counting, I have during my academic career been blessed working together with and co-authoring scholarly papers with most of the pioneers of that new science; they became my colleagues and friends.

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The essay as printed here includes five chapters:   

                       

1. “The Genius”. The story about Abe Charnes as I worked with him as a research associate at Northwestern University in 1963.  

                                                                 

2.  “ The Eminence of the Carnegie Mellon IT Department” drawing on my memories from Carnegie Mellon University spending a year there in 1959-1960. 

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 3.   “The advice of a professional Boxer”, the boxer being W.W. (Bill)  Cooper, founding dean of the School of Urban and Public Affairs  (SUPA, today the Heinz College).                                                                                                                                   

4 .   ”G. Kozmetsky - Inventing  Economic Creativity.”. The story of one of the most successful captains of US capitalism,  leaving his mark on academic research in the state of Texas and in the world.                                                             

   

5.    “Should Galileo  Galilei and Steve Jobs both be burned at the stake?” rounding off with some comments on the destiny of our planet. 

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The account that  you are about to read is my personal memoir,  based on episodes that I love to tell my doctoral students  and my own grandchildren. It is my remembrance of a group of remarkable personalities who together  created the science of OPERATIONS RESEARCH. It is not my autobiography. You will follow me as I worked with the pioneers of the new science, and there will be glimpses of my beloved wife Margrethe Munch and myself as my career brought me to Pittsburgh (Carnegie Mellon), to the University of Texas (IC2 Institute) and finally to Portugal (the Instituto Superior de Técnico, Lisboa).

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If you find the present text of interest, I would very much appreciate your comments.

 

A final note: Should you come to wonder how I - a humble mathematician from Sweden - came to be connected with these international stars of their field, I direct you to the "About the Author" section.

                                       

Gabels Park, Gabels gate 28,  Oslo 0272, Norway,  email stenmargr @ iCloud.com

 October 4, 2024.

 

S.Th.

Introduction

The use of mathematics and and computers to solve management problems goes back to World War II, calculating optimal bombing runs over enemy country or the deployment of submarines to protect convoys.  The new mathematics was called “operations research”.  After the war, the idea was born to adapt the same techniques to some kind of “scientific” conduct of regular business operations — ”management science.”

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Two researchers at the Carnegie Mellon University stood out in these efforts: Abe Charnes (1917-1992 ) and W.W. (Bill) Cooper (1914 - 2012). In hundreds of pathbreaking papers they established management science as a reputable and impressive new field of scholarly research. In these efforts they struck up a lasting friendship with George Kozmetsky (1917 - 2003), a Harvard  man who decided to see if the new theory could be used to make money — lots of money. He co-founded Teledyne, eventually growing to become one of the largest industrial combines in the US. Kozmetsky was ranked as one of the 400 richest people in the US in the late 1980s.

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The three friends started The Institute of Management Science, a society having the objective of ”identifying, extending, and unifying scientific knowledge that contributes to the understanding and practice of management”. Cooper became its first president, and Charnes the editor of the society’s new journal Management Science. Kozmetsky guaranteed its financial standing.

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