Andrew B. Whinston
Encyclopedia
Andrew B. Whinston is an American economist
and computer scientist
. He is the Hugh Roy Cullen
Centennial Chair in Business Administration, Professor of Information Systems, Computer Science and Economics, and Director of the Center for Research in Electronic Commerce (CREC) in the McCombs School of Business
at the University of Texas at Austin
.
In the late 1950s, he was Sanxsay Fellow at Princeton University
. Prof. Whinston finished his PhD from the Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1962, at which time he also received its Alexander Henderson Award for Excellence in Economic Theory
. He started work at the Yale University
economics department, where he was a member of the Cowles Foundation. He became an associate professor of economics at the University of Virginia in 1964. By 1966 he was a full professor at Purdue University
, where he became the university's inaugural Weiler Distinguished Professor of management, economics, and computer science.
He began his contributions to the academic world in 1961 when he published a paper in a law journal on the topic of urban renewal. In 1962 he published his first two papers in top academic journals. The first was in the Journal of Political Economy
where he showed how non-cooperative game theory could be applied to issues in microeconomics. In the second paper entitled "A Model of Multi-Period Investment under Uncertainty" which appeared in Management Science he used nonlinear optimization methods to determine optimal portfolios over time.
In 1996 he was the first to publish a book on electronic commerce entitled Frontiers of Electronic Commerce; this 800-page book covered technical, social and economic issues of electronic commerce. The book had a huge impact on the Information Systems
discipline throughout the world, was translated into several languages, and was used as a required reading for numerous graduate programs across the country and worldwide.
, Econometrica
, Review of Economic Studies
, Journal of Economic Theory
, in top multidiscipline journals such as Management Science, Decision Sciences, and Organization Science, in top operations journals such as Operations Research
, European Journal of Operational Research, Production and Operations Management, Journal of Production Research, and Naval Research Logistics, in top mathematics journals such as Journal of Combinatorics, SIAM Journal of Applied Mathematics, and Discrete Mathematics, in top accounting journals such as the Accounting Review and Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory, in top marketing journals such as Marketing Science
, Journal of Marketing, and Journal of Retailing, in the premier journals devoted to information systems - Decision Support Systems, MIS Quarterly, Journal of Management Information Systems, and Information Systems Research - and finally, in top computer science journals such as Communications of the ACM, ACM Transactions on Database Systems, ACM Transactions on Internet Technology, and ACM Journal on Mobile Networking and Applications.
Professor Whinston's work has also appeared in periodicals outside of academia ranging from ComputerWorld and CIO Magazine to the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal.
His publication record consists of more than 25 books and 400 refereed publications. According to Google Scholar (as of December 2009), they have been referenced well over 10,000 times in scholarly publications - with his 100 most-cited works having been referenced over 9,800 times. Many of Prof. Whinston’s publications have been translated into other languages making his research more accessible to people abroad, thus generating a worldwide impact.
For a more complete description of Professor Whinston's research contributions, see Business Modelling: Multidisciplinary Approaches - Economics, Operational, and Information Systems Perspectives (edited by C. Holsapple, V. Jacob, and H.R. Rao, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston), a 2002 book published in his honor and containing research chapters written by some of his former doctoral students.
. This award, created by the Council of the Association for Information Systems
and the Executive Committee of the International Conference on Information Systems, recognizes the work of outstanding contributors to the Information Systems discipline. Only 21 people have received this very unique award since it was created in 1999 and thus shows the exceptional quality and outstanding impact of Prof. Whinston’s work.
In 2009, Prof. Whinston was honored with the Career Award for Outstanding Research Contributions at The University of Texas at Austin for singularly significant research contributions made by a tenured or tenure-track faculty member over an extended period of time. These contributions can vary widely from theoretical or conceptual developments to the development of new research techniques and procedures, to the creative application of theories, concepts, techniques or procedures.
Also in 2009, the INFORMS Information System Society (ISS) honored Prof. Andrew Whinston by recognizing him as the inaugural INFORMS ISS Fellow for his outstanding contributions to IS research by contributing to knowledge in form of high quality research, outstanding Ph.D. student training and intellectual leadership.
The scope of the Center's research covers a broad range of activities which are characterized by the use of enabling digital technologies in networks, computers and software. Communications infrastructure, computer and other enabling technologies lay the foundation of the market. This foundation allows innovative digital processes (e.g. intranets, extranets, virtual firms, online search and marketing, online auctions and market-making mechanisms, logistics-based distribution and real time consumption) and products (e.g. digital currency, smart products and remote/real-time services) to enhance and replace physical processes and products. Government agencies and policies also play a critical role in determining the outcome of this new market economy. The Center's major research areas cover these broad issues that range from market infrastructure to policies on the strength of its multidisciplinary body of researchers.
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
and computer scientist
Computer scientist
A computer scientist is a scientist who has acquired knowledge of computer science, the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their application in computer systems....
. He is the Hugh Roy Cullen
Hugh Roy Cullen
Hugh Roy Cullen was an American industrialist and philanthropist. Cullen was heavily involved in the petroleum industry, was a large supporter of the University of Houston, and longtime chairman of the board of regents for the university...
Centennial Chair in Business Administration, Professor of Information Systems, Computer Science and Economics, and Director of the Center for Research in Electronic Commerce (CREC) in the McCombs School of Business
McCombs School of Business
The McCombs School of Business, also referred to as the McCombs School or simply McCombs, is a business school at The University of Texas at Austin. In addition to the main Austin campus, McCombs offers classes outside Central Texas in Dallas, Houston and internationally in Mexico City...
at the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
.
In the late 1950s, he was Sanxsay Fellow at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. Prof. Whinston finished his PhD from the Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1962, at which time he also received its Alexander Henderson Award for Excellence in Economic Theory
Alexander Henderson Award
The Alexander Henderson Award is presented to the student at the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University who displays the best work in the field of economic theory. A large proportion of the winners of the award has later made contributions to economics that have changed the...
. He started work at the Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
economics department, where he was a member of the Cowles Foundation. He became an associate professor of economics at the University of Virginia in 1964. By 1966 he was a full professor at Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
, where he became the university's inaugural Weiler Distinguished Professor of management, economics, and computer science.
He began his contributions to the academic world in 1961 when he published a paper in a law journal on the topic of urban renewal. In 1962 he published his first two papers in top academic journals. The first was in the Journal of Political Economy
Journal of Political Economy
The Journal of Political Economy is an academic journal run by economists at the University of Chicago and published every two months by the University of Chicago Press. The journal publishes articles in both theoretical economics and empirical economics...
where he showed how non-cooperative game theory could be applied to issues in microeconomics. In the second paper entitled "A Model of Multi-Period Investment under Uncertainty" which appeared in Management Science he used nonlinear optimization methods to determine optimal portfolios over time.
In 1996 he was the first to publish a book on electronic commerce entitled Frontiers of Electronic Commerce; this 800-page book covered technical, social and economic issues of electronic commerce. The book had a huge impact on the Information Systems
Information systems
Information Systems is an academic/professional discipline bridging the business field and the well-defined computer science field that is evolving toward a new scientific area of study...
discipline throughout the world, was translated into several languages, and was used as a required reading for numerous graduate programs across the country and worldwide.
Publications
His publication record consists of a steady stream of papers on a wide range of topics and which appear in top journals of many different disciplines. For example, he has numerous papers in top economics journals such as American Economic ReviewAmerican Economic Review
The American Economic Review is a peer-reviewed academic journal of economics publishing seven issues annually by the American Economic Association. First published in 1911, it is considered one of the most prestigious journals in the field. The current editor-in-chief is Penny Goldberg . The...
, Econometrica
Econometrica
Econometrica is a peer-reviewed academic journal of economics, publishing articles not only in econometrics but in many areas of economics. It is published by the Econometric Society and distributed by Wiley-Blackwell. Econometrica is one of the most highly ranked economics journals in the world...
, Review of Economic Studies
Review of Economic Studies
The Review of Economic Studies is a peer-reviewed academic journal in economics. It was established in 1933 and is published by Wiley-Blackwell. It is the eighth-ranked economics journal in overall impact according to the ranking of Kalaitzidakis et al...
, Journal of Economic Theory
Journal of Economic Theory
The Journal of Economic Theory, often referred to as JET, is an important scholarly journal in the field of economics. Although the journal was originally intended as a specialty journal in mathematical economics, JET is now generally regarded as the leading journal in economic theory and one of...
, in top multidiscipline journals such as Management Science, Decision Sciences, and Organization Science, in top operations journals such as Operations Research
Operations research
Operations research is an interdisciplinary mathematical science that focuses on the effective use of technology by organizations...
, European Journal of Operational Research, Production and Operations Management, Journal of Production Research, and Naval Research Logistics, in top mathematics journals such as Journal of Combinatorics, SIAM Journal of Applied Mathematics, and Discrete Mathematics, in top accounting journals such as the Accounting Review and Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory, in top marketing journals such as Marketing Science
Marketing Science
Marketing Science is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences. It covers operations research and mathematical modeling to analyze marketing...
, Journal of Marketing, and Journal of Retailing, in the premier journals devoted to information systems - Decision Support Systems, MIS Quarterly, Journal of Management Information Systems, and Information Systems Research - and finally, in top computer science journals such as Communications of the ACM, ACM Transactions on Database Systems, ACM Transactions on Internet Technology, and ACM Journal on Mobile Networking and Applications.
Professor Whinston's work has also appeared in periodicals outside of academia ranging from ComputerWorld and CIO Magazine to the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal.
His publication record consists of more than 25 books and 400 refereed publications. According to Google Scholar (as of December 2009), they have been referenced well over 10,000 times in scholarly publications - with his 100 most-cited works having been referenced over 9,800 times. Many of Prof. Whinston’s publications have been translated into other languages making his research more accessible to people abroad, thus generating a worldwide impact.
For a more complete description of Professor Whinston's research contributions, see Business Modelling: Multidisciplinary Approaches - Economics, Operational, and Information Systems Perspectives (edited by C. Holsapple, V. Jacob, and H.R. Rao, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston), a 2002 book published in his honor and containing research chapters written by some of his former doctoral students.
Awards
In 1995, Professor Whinston was honored by the Data Processing Manager's Association with its IS Educator of the Year Award in recognition of his outstanding accomplishments as a leader in information systems education, research, and service. In 2005, Prof. Whinston received the LEO Award for Lifetime Exceptional Achievement in Information SystemsInformation systems
Information Systems is an academic/professional discipline bridging the business field and the well-defined computer science field that is evolving toward a new scientific area of study...
. This award, created by the Council of the Association for Information Systems
Association for Information Systems
The Association for Information Systems is an international professional organization serving as the premier global organization for academics specializing in Information Systems...
and the Executive Committee of the International Conference on Information Systems, recognizes the work of outstanding contributors to the Information Systems discipline. Only 21 people have received this very unique award since it was created in 1999 and thus shows the exceptional quality and outstanding impact of Prof. Whinston’s work.
In 2009, Prof. Whinston was honored with the Career Award for Outstanding Research Contributions at The University of Texas at Austin for singularly significant research contributions made by a tenured or tenure-track faculty member over an extended period of time. These contributions can vary widely from theoretical or conceptual developments to the development of new research techniques and procedures, to the creative application of theories, concepts, techniques or procedures.
Also in 2009, the INFORMS Information System Society (ISS) honored Prof. Andrew Whinston by recognizing him as the inaugural INFORMS ISS Fellow for his outstanding contributions to IS research by contributing to knowledge in form of high quality research, outstanding Ph.D. student training and intellectual leadership.
Center for Research in Electronic Commerce
Since its establishment in 1988, the McCombs School Center for Research in Electronic Commerce (CREC) has served as an incubator for breakthrough research blending business and computer science, and is recognized today as the leading research institution in Information Systems research.Vision
The Center's vision is to assure that electronic commerce processes and applications achieve their efficient outcomes promised for the digital age. That vision is implemented in an interdisciplinary research focusing on developing technologies and applications that increase business productivity, consumer satisfaction, market efficiency, society's welfare and the effectiveness of government policies.The scope of the Center's research covers a broad range of activities which are characterized by the use of enabling digital technologies in networks, computers and software. Communications infrastructure, computer and other enabling technologies lay the foundation of the market. This foundation allows innovative digital processes (e.g. intranets, extranets, virtual firms, online search and marketing, online auctions and market-making mechanisms, logistics-based distribution and real time consumption) and products (e.g. digital currency, smart products and remote/real-time services) to enhance and replace physical processes and products. Government agencies and policies also play a critical role in determining the outcome of this new market economy. The Center's major research areas cover these broad issues that range from market infrastructure to policies on the strength of its multidisciplinary body of researchers.