Ronald A. Howard
Encyclopedia
Ronald A. Howard has been a professor at Stanford University
since 1965. In 1964 he defined the profession of decision analysis
, and since then has been developing the field as professor in the Department of Engineering-Economic Systems (now the Department of Management Science and Engineering) in the School of Engineering at Stanford.
Howard directs teaching and research in decision analysis
at Stanford, and is the Director of the Decisions and Ethics Center, which examines the efficacy and ethics
of social arrangements. He was a founding Director and Chairman of Strategic Decisions Group. Current research interests are improving the quality of decisions, life-and-death decision making, and the creation of a coercion-free society.
In 1986 he received the Operations Research Society of America's Frank P. Ramsey Medal "for distinguished contributions in decision analysis". In 1998 he received from the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences
(INFORMS) the first award for the teaching of operations research
/management science practice. In 1999 INFORMS invited him to give the Omega Rho Distinguished Plenary Lecture at the Cincinnati National Meeting. In the same year he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering
, and received the Dean's Award for Academic Excellence.
Howard earned his Sc.D. in Electrical Engineering from MIT in 1958 and was an associate professor there until he joined Stanford. He pioneered the policy iteration method for solving Markov decision problems
, and this method is sometimes called the 'Howard policy-improvement algorithm' in his honor (Sargent, 1987, p. 47). He was also instrumental in the development of the Influence diagram
for the graphical analysis of decision situations.
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
since 1965. In 1964 he defined the profession of decision analysis
Decision analysis
Decision analysis is the discipline comprising the philosophy, theory, methodology, and professional practice necessary to address important decisions in a formal manner...
, and since then has been developing the field as professor in the Department of Engineering-Economic Systems (now the Department of Management Science and Engineering) in the School of Engineering at Stanford.
Howard directs teaching and research in decision analysis
Decision analysis
Decision analysis is the discipline comprising the philosophy, theory, methodology, and professional practice necessary to address important decisions in a formal manner...
at Stanford, and is the Director of the Decisions and Ethics Center, which examines the efficacy and ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
of social arrangements. He was a founding Director and Chairman of Strategic Decisions Group. Current research interests are improving the quality of decisions, life-and-death decision making, and the creation of a coercion-free society.
In 1986 he received the Operations Research Society of America's Frank P. Ramsey Medal "for distinguished contributions in decision analysis". In 1998 he received from the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences
Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences
The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences is an international society for practitioners in the fields of operations research and management science...
(INFORMS) the first award for the teaching of operations research
Operations research
Operations research is an interdisciplinary mathematical science that focuses on the effective use of technology by organizations...
/management science practice. In 1999 INFORMS invited him to give the Omega Rho Distinguished Plenary Lecture at the Cincinnati National Meeting. In the same year he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering
National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering is a government-created non-profit institution in the United States, that was founded in 1964 under the same congressional act that led to the founding of the National Academy of Sciences...
, and received the Dean's Award for Academic Excellence.
Howard earned his Sc.D. in Electrical Engineering from MIT in 1958 and was an associate professor there until he joined Stanford. He pioneered the policy iteration method for solving Markov decision problems
Markov decision process
Markov decision processes , named after Andrey Markov, provide a mathematical framework for modeling decision-making in situations where outcomes are partly random and partly under the control of a decision maker. MDPs are useful for studying a wide range of optimization problems solved via...
, and this method is sometimes called the 'Howard policy-improvement algorithm' in his honor (Sargent, 1987, p. 47). He was also instrumental in the development of the Influence diagram
Influence diagram
An influence diagram is a compact graphical and mathematical representation of a decision situation...
for the graphical analysis of decision situations.
Publications
- 1960. Dynamic Programming and Markov Processes, The M.I.T. Press.
- 1971. Dynamic Probabilistic Systems (two volumes), John Wiley & SonsJohn Wiley & SonsJohn Wiley & Sons, Inc., also referred to as Wiley, is a global publishing company that specializes in academic publishing and markets its products to professionals and consumers, students and instructors in higher education, and researchers and practitioners in scientific, technical, medical, and...
, Inc., New York City. - 1977. Readings in Decision Analysis. With Jim E. Matheson (editors). SRI InternationalSRI InternationalSRI International , founded as Stanford Research Institute, is one of the world's largest contract research institutes. Based in Menlo Park, California, the trustees of Stanford University established it in 1946 as a center of innovation to support economic development in the region. It was later...
, Menlo Park, California. - 1984. Readings on the Principles and Applications of Decision Analysis. 2 volumes. With Jim E. Matheson (editors). Menlo Park CA: Strategic Decisions Group.
- 2008. Ethics for the Real World. With Clinton D. Korver. Harvard Business Press. ISBN 978-1422121061
External links
- Howard's home page at Stanford UniversityStanford UniversityThe Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
- Howard, Ronald. Studies in Discrete Dynamic Programming, May 19, 1959 - Doctoral Thesis