Clark C. Abt is an American researcher born August 31, 1929 in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

y. He became an American citizen in 1945, at age 16, and is known for first formalizing the concept and usages of serious games.

Biography

Abt left Germany for the United States in 1937. In 1947, he applied as an

aeronautics Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of air flight–capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. The British Royal Aeronautical Society identifies ...

student at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

, where he graduated in 1951. He then served four months in the merchant navy as a

seaman Seaman may refer to: * Sailor, a member of a marine watercraft's crew * Seaman (rank), a military rank in some navies * Seaman (name) (including a list of people with the name) * ''Seaman'' (video game), a 1999 simulation video game for the Seg ...

, then spent a year at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

as an English teacher, eventually obtaining a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in the Writing, Discourse and Drama Department for his

thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

, titled ''A Year of Poems''. In 1965, he earned a PhD from MIT in Political Science. He founded Abt Associates immediately afterwards. He married Wendy Peter on November 3, 1971, fathering a son and daughter. His son is

Thomas Abt Thomas Abt (born 1972)''The Atlantic'This man says his anti-violence plan would save 12,000 lives September 11, 2019 is an American author, crime researcher, and former government official specializing in evidence-informed approaches to reducin ...

, a senior research fellow focusing on evidence-informed crime research at the

Harvard Kennedy School The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

.''The Atlantic'
This man says his anti-violence plan would save 12,000 lives
September 11, 2019

Works

Abt is known for his book ''Serious Games'' (1970), where he formally established a basis for the concept of serious game. In this work and subsequent ones, he described sports games,

role playing games A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal ac ...

and (then marginal) computer games as mediums for educative, political or marketing ideas. This interest probably stemmed from Abt's involvement with the development of TEMPER, an early computer

wargame A wargame is a strategy game in which two or more players command opposing armed forces in a realistic simulation of an armed conflict. Wargaming may be played for recreation, to train military officers in the art of strategic thinking, or to s ...

designed for a

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

context.

References

External links

Clark C. Abt - Abt Associates Founder, President and Treasurer (1965-1985), Chairman of the Board (1986-2006) and Chairman Emeritus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abt, Clark German emigrants to the United States American educational theorists Living people 1929 births