Merrill M. Flood
Encyclopedia
Merrill Meeks Flood was an American mathematician
, notable for developing, with Melvin Dresher
, the basis of the game theoretical
Prisoner's dilemma
model of cooperation and conflict while being at RAND
in 1950 (Albert W. Tucker
gave the game its prison-sentence interpretation, and thus the name by which it is known today).
at the University of Nebraska, and a PhD at Princeton University
in 1935 under the supervision of Joseph Wedderburn
, for the dissertation Division by Non-singular Matric Polynomials.
In the 1930s he started working at Princeton University
, and after the War he worked at the Rand Corporation, Columbia University
, the University of Michigan
and the University of California
.
In the 1950s Flood was one of the founding members of TIMS
and its second President in 1955. End 1950s he was among the first members of the Society for General Systems Research
. In 1961, he was elected President of the Operations Research Society of America (ORSA), and from 1962 to 1965 he served as Vice President of the Institute of Industrial Engineers
. In 1983 he was awarded ORSA's George E. Kimball Medal.
, who has been able to apply their techniques to problems on many levels of society. According to Xu (2001) "as early as 1936-1946, he applied innovative systems analysis
to public problems and developed cost-benefit analysis in the civilian sector and cost effectiveness analysis in the military sector".
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
, notable for developing, with Melvin Dresher
Melvin Dresher
Melvin Dresher was a Polish-born American mathematician, notable for developing, with Merrill Flood, the game theoretical model of cooperation and conflict known as the Prisoner's Dilemma while at RAND in 1950 .Dresher came to the United States in 1923...
, the basis of the game theoretical
Game theory
Game theory is a mathematical method for analyzing calculated circumstances, such as in games, where a person’s success is based upon the choices of others...
Prisoner's dilemma
Prisoner's dilemma
The prisoner’s dilemma is a canonical example of a game, analyzed in game theory that shows why two individuals might not cooperate, even if it appears that it is in their best interest to do so. It was originally framed by Merrill Flood and Melvin Dresher working at RAND in 1950. Albert W...
model of cooperation and conflict while being at RAND
RAND
RAND Corporation is a nonprofit global policy think tank first formed to offer research and analysis to the United States armed forces by Douglas Aircraft Company. It is currently financed by the U.S. government and private endowment, corporations including the healthcare industry, universities...
in 1950 (Albert W. Tucker
Albert W. Tucker
Albert William Tucker was a Canadian-born American mathematician who made important contributions in topology, game theory, and non-linear programming....
gave the game its prison-sentence interpretation, and thus the name by which it is known today).
Biography
Flood received an MA in mathematicsMathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
at the University of Nebraska, and a PhD 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....
in 1935 under the supervision of Joseph Wedderburn
Joseph Wedderburn
Joseph Henry Maclagan Wedderburn was a Scottish mathematician, who taught at Princeton University for most of his career. A significant algebraist, he proved that a finite division algebra is a field, and part of the Artin–Wedderburn theorem on simple algebras...
, for the dissertation Division by Non-singular Matric Polynomials.
In the 1930s he started working 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....
, and after the War he worked at the Rand Corporation, Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
and the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
.
In the 1950s Flood was one of the founding members of TIMS
TIMS
TIMS is a four-letter combination that may refer to:* The International Molinological Society* Thermal ionization mass spectrometry - see Thermal ionization* Thermal infrared multispectral scanner - see Thermal infrared spectroscopy and 1982 in archaeology...
and its second President in 1955. End 1950s he was among the first members of the Society for General Systems Research
Society for General Systems Research
The Society for General Systems Research is predecessor of the current International Society for the Systems Sciences , known to be one the first interdisciplinary and international co-operations in the field of systems theory and systems science...
. In 1961, he was elected President of the Operations Research Society of America (ORSA), and from 1962 to 1965 he served as Vice President of the Institute of Industrial Engineers
Institute of Industrial Engineers
The Institute of Industrial Engineers is a professional society dedicated solely to the support of the industrial engineering profession and individuals involved with improving quality and productivity...
. In 1983 he was awarded ORSA's George E. Kimball Medal.
Work
Flood is considered a pioneer in the field of management science and operations researchOperations research
Operations research is an interdisciplinary mathematical science that focuses on the effective use of technology by organizations...
, who has been able to apply their techniques to problems on many levels of society. According to Xu (2001) "as early as 1936-1946, he applied innovative systems analysis
Systems analysis
Systems analysis is the study of sets of interacting entities, including computer systems analysis. This field is closely related to requirements analysis or operations research...
to public problems and developed cost-benefit analysis in the civilian sector and cost effectiveness analysis in the military sector".
Traveling salesman problem
In the 1940’s Flood publicized the name Traveling salesman problem (TSP) within the mathematical community at mass. Flood publicized the traveling salesman problem in 1948 by presenting it at the RAND Corporation. According to Flood “when I was struggling with the problem in connecting with a school-bus routing study in New Jersey”.Hitchcock transportation problem
Equally at home in his original field of the mathematics of matrices and in the pragmatic trenches of the industrial engineer, his research addressed an impressive array of operations research problems. His 1953 paper on the Hitchcock transportation problem is often cited, but he also published work on the traveling salesman problem, and an algorithm for solving the von Neumann hide and seek problem.Publications
- 1948, A Game Theoretic Study of the Tactics of Area Defense, RAND Research Memorandum
- 1949, Illustrative example of application of Koopmans' transportation theory to scheduling military tanker fleet, RAND Research Memorandum.
- 1951, A Preference Experiment. RAND Research Paper
- 1951, A Preference Experiment (Series 2, Trial 1).RAND Research Paper
- 1952, A Preference Experiment (Series 2, Trials 2, 3, 4). RAND Research Paper
- 1952, Aerial Bombing Tactics : General Considerations (A World War II Study), RAND Research Memorandum.
- 1952, On Game-Learning Theory and Some Decision-Making Experiments. RAND Research Paper
- 1952, Preference Experiment. RAND Research Memorandum
- 1952, Some Group Interaction Models. RAND Research Memorandum
External links
- Biography from the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS)
- An interview by Albert Tucker (San Francisco on 14 May 1984).