Donald G. Saari
Encyclopedia
Donald Gene Saari is the Distinguished Professor of Mathematics and Economics and director of the Institute for Mathematical Behavioral Sciences at the University of California Irvine. He received his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics in 1962 from Michigan Technological University
, his Master of Science and PhD in Mathematics from Purdue University
in 1964 and 1967, respectively. From 1968 to 2000, he served as assistant, associate, and full professor of mathematics at Northwestern University
. He holds the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences Distinguished Chair at the University of Victoria
in British Columbia
, Canada
. In 2001 he was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences
, and in 2004 he was named a Fellow
of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
.
Saari has been widely quoted as an expert in voting methods and lottery odds.
His research interests include the n-body problem
, the Borda count
, and application of mathematics to the Social Sciences
. In 1999, a conference on celestial mechanics
was held at Northwestern in honor of his 60th birthday. Saari is also known for having some discussion with Theodore J. Kaczynski in 1978, prior to the mail bombings that led to Kaczynski's 1996 arrest. He has Erdős number
2 due to his 1968 collaboration with Harry S. Pollard.
Michigan Technological University
Michigan Technological University is a public research university located in Houghton, Michigan, United States. Its main campus sits on on a bluff overlooking Portage Lake...
, his Master of Science and PhD in Mathematics from 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...
in 1964 and 1967, respectively. From 1968 to 2000, he served as assistant, associate, and full professor of mathematics at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
. He holds the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences Distinguished Chair at the University of Victoria
University of Victoria
The University of Victoria, often referred to as UVic, is the second oldest public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It is a research intensive university located in Saanich and Oak Bay, about northeast of downtown Victoria. The University's annual enrollment is about 20,000 students...
in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. In 2001 he was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
, and in 2004 he was named a Fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
.
Saari has been widely quoted as an expert in voting methods and lottery odds.
His research interests include the n-body problem
N-body problem
The n-body problem is the problem of predicting the motion of a group of celestial objects that interact with each other gravitationally. Solving this problem has been motivated by the need to understand the motion of the Sun, planets and the visible stars...
, the Borda count
Borda count
The Borda count is a single-winner election method in which voters rank candidates in order of preference. The Borda count determines the winner of an election by giving each candidate a certain number of points corresponding to the position in which he or she is ranked by each voter. Once all...
, and application of mathematics to the Social Sciences
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
. In 1999, a conference on celestial mechanics
Celestial mechanics
Celestial mechanics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the motions of celestial objects. The field applies principles of physics, historically classical mechanics, to astronomical objects such as stars and planets to produce ephemeris data. Orbital mechanics is a subfield which focuses on...
was held at Northwestern in honor of his 60th birthday. Saari is also known for having some discussion with Theodore J. Kaczynski in 1978, prior to the mail bombings that led to Kaczynski's 1996 arrest. He has Erdős number
Erdos number
The Erdős number describes the "collaborative distance" between a person and mathematician Paul Erdős, as measured by authorship of mathematical papers.The same principle has been proposed for other eminent persons in other fields.- Overview :...
2 due to his 1968 collaboration with Harry S. Pollard.
Books written by Donald Saari
- "Collisions, Rings, and Other Newtonian N-Body Problems", American Mathematical Society, Providence RI, 2005.
- "The Way it Was: Mathematics From the Early Years of the Bulletin", American Mathematical Society, 2003.
- "Chaotic Elections! A Mathematician Looks at Voting", American Mathematical Society, Providence, RI, 2001.
- Decisions and Elections; Explaining the Unexpected, Cambridge University Press, 2001.
- "Hamiltonian Dynamics and Celestial Mechanics", (with Z. Xia), Contemporary Mathematics, vol 198, American Mathematical Society, Providence, 1996.
- Basic Geometry of Voting, Springer-Verlag, 1995.