Remembering Peter C. Fishburn (1936-2021)

INFORMS is saddened to share the passing of an individual who not only played a significant role within INFORMS, but the greater operations research, management science (OR/MS) and analytics community as well. A member and Fellow of INFORMS for many years, Peter C. Fishburn was an award-winning researcher in the areas of economics and mathematics, renowned for his contributions toward the foundations of making choices under uncertainty.

After earning his Ph.D. from the Case Institute of Technology (where his advisor was none other than Russel Ackoff, a founding father of operations research), Fishburn worked for the Research Analysis Corporation, spent a year at the Institute for Advanced Study, and was a research professor at Pennsylvania State University. He then served as a researcher for 24 years at Bell Labs. Upon retiring from Bell Labs, Fishburn served as a research professor of management science at the Pennsylvania State University. Throughout his career, he authored or co-authored many books and hundreds of articles.

INFORMS honored Fishburn with the John von Neumann Theory Prize for his numerous publications (both books and articles), which represent significant and sustained contributions to OR/MS theory. In addition, his book "Utility Theory for Decision Making," received an honorable mention recognition from the INFORMS Frederick W. Lanchester Prize selection committee, and the INFORMS Decision Analysis Society recognized Fishburn with the third annual Frank P. Ramsey Medal for his contributions to decision analysis.

To learn more about Peter Fishburn and his many contributions, view his profile within the “History of O.R. Excellence” page on INFORMS online.