Melvin Dresher (born Dreszer; March 13, 1911 – June 4, 1992) was a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

-born

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

, notable for developing, with

Merrill Flood Merrill Meeks Flood (1908 – 1991) 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 ...

, the game theoretical model of cooperation and conflict known as the

Prisoner's dilemma The Prisoner's Dilemma is an example of a game analyzed in game theory. It is also a thought experiment that challenges two completely rational agents to a dilemma: cooperate with their partner for mutual reward, or betray their partner ("def ...

while at

RAND The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is finan ...

in 1950 ( Albert W. Tucker gave the game its prison-sentence interpretation, and thus the name by which it is known today). Dresher came to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1923. He obtained his B.S. from

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Epi ...

in 1933 and his Ph.D. from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1937; the title of his dissertation was "Multi-Groups: A Generalisation of the Notion of Group." Dresher worked as instructor of mathematics,

Michigan State College Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

, 1938–1941; statistician,

War Production Board The War Production Board (WPB) was an agency of the United States government that supervised war production during World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established it in January 1942, with Executive Order 9024. The WPB replaced the Su ...

, 1941–1944; mathematical physicist,

National Defense Research Committee The National Defense Research Committee (NDRC) was an organization created "to coordinate, supervise, and conduct scientific research on the problems underlying the development, production, and use of mechanisms and devices of warfare" in the Un ...

, 1944–1946; professor of mathematics, Catholic University, 1946–1947; research mathematician,

, from 1948. He was the author of several RAND research papers on game theory, and his widely acclaimed ''The Mathematics of Games of Strategy: Theory and Applications'' (originally published in 1961 as ''Games of Strategy: Theory and Applications'') continues to be read today. Dresher's research has been referred to and discussed in a variety of published books, including ''Prisoner's Dilemma'' by

William Poundstone William Poundstone is an American author, columnist, and skeptic. He has written a number of books including the ''Big Secrets'' series and a biography of Carl Sagan. Early life and education Poundstone attended MIT and studied physics. Personal ...

and '' A Beautiful Mind'' by Sylvia Nasar.

References

* Obituary, July 2, 1992 issue of the ''Palisadian-Post'' newspaper (Pacific Palisades, California). * "In Remembrance", July 9, 1992 issue of ''RAND Items'' (a biweekly publication for employees of RAND). {{DEFAULTSORT:Dresher, Melvin 1911 births 1992 deaths Game theorists Yale University alumni RAND Corporation people 20th-century American mathematicians American people of Polish-Jewish descent Polish emigrants to the United States People from Krasnystaw