Melvin Jay "Mel" Hinich (April 29, 1939 – September 6, 2010) was a
professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
of
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
and
economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...
at the
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
.
Hinich was also a
research professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...
at UT's Applied Research Laboratories.
Known as an expert in
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
with a long record of distinction in a number of fields, he wrote seven books and published more than 200 papers in
statistics
Statistics (from German language, German: ''wikt:Statistik#German, Statistik'', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of ...
/
statistical theory,
signal processing
Signal processing is an electrical engineering subfield that focuses on analyzing, modifying and synthesizing ''signals'', such as audio signal processing, sound, image processing, images, and scientific measurements. Signal processing techniq ...
, economics, political science,
biomedical engineering
Biomedical engineering (BME) or medical engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare purposes (e.g., diagnostic or therapeutic). BME is also traditionally logical sciences ...
,
pharmacy
Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links heal ...
, and
library science
Library science (often termed library studies, bibliothecography, and library economy) is an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of management, information technology, education, and ...
.
Biography
Hinich was born on April 29, 1939, in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
. In 1966, he married Sonje Gregg and the couple had a daughter, Amy Leksana.
Education
Hinich attended
Carnegie Institute of Technology
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...
where he earned a
B.S.
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
in
Mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
in 1959 as well as an
M.S.
A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...
in Mathematics in 1960.
In 1963, he earned a
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...
in
Statistics
Statistics (from German language, German: ''wikt:Statistik#German, Statistik'', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of ...
from
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
.
Hinich's advisor while at Stanford was
Herman Chernoff.
Editorial experience and professional affiliations
At various times throughout his career, Hinich served as editor for ''
Macroeconomic Dynamics
''Macroeconomic Dynamics'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering macroeconomics. The editor-in-chief is William A. Barnett (University of Kansas) and it is published by Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the u ...
'', ''
Society for Nonlinear Dynamics and Econometrics'', ''
Journal of the American Statistical Association'', and ''
Journal of Mathematical Sociology
A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to:
*Bullet journal, a method of personal organization
*Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period
*Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...
''.
He became a fellow of the
Institute of Mathematical Statistics
The Institute of Mathematical Statistics is an international professional and scholarly society devoted to the development, dissemination, and application of statistics and probability. The Institute currently has about 4,000 members in all parts o ...
in 1973, a fellow of the
Public Choice Society
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...
in 1988, and was president of that organization from 1992 to 1994.
Hinich was elected as a fellow of the
American Statistical Association in 2002.
Academic influence
Michael Munger
Michael Curtis Munger (; born September 23, 1958)[News & Observer profile](_blank)
...
was reported to have been heavily influenced by Hinich.
[Rowley p.377]
Death
Hinich died on September 6, 2010, after falling down a staircase.
He is survived by his wife and daughter.
Publications
Books
*The Spatial Theory of Voting: An Introduction (with J. Enelow), Cambridge University Press, January (1984)
*Advances in the Spatial Theory of Voting, J. Enelow and M. J. Hinich (eds.), Cambridge University Press (1990)
*Political Economy: Institutions, Competition, and Representation, W. Barnett, M. J. Hinich, and N. J. Schofield (eds.), Cambridge University Press (1993).
*Ideology and the Theory of Political Choice, (with M. C. Munger), University of Michigan Press, (1994)
*Analytical Politics (with M.C. Munger) Cambridge University Press, (1997). Empirical Studies in Comparative Politics, (with M.C. Munger) Kluwer Academic Publishers,(1999)
*Topics in Analytical Political Economy, M. J. Hinich and W. Barnett (editors), Elsevier, Oxford () (2007)
*Consumer Protection Legislation and the U. S. Food Industry (with R. Staelin), Pergamon Press, (1980).
*Introduction to Continuous Probability Theory, (with K. D. MacKenzie), Charles E. Merrill Publishing Co., (1969).
Articles
*
*
References
;General
BiographyCurriculum vitae
;Specific
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hinich, Melvin J.
1939 births
2010 deaths
Carnegie Mellon University alumni
Carnegie Mellon University faculty
Stanford University alumni
University of Texas at Austin faculty
Virginia Tech faculty
Scientists from Pittsburgh
Fellows of the American Statistical Association
Economists from Pennsylvania