Ronald Arthur Howard (born August 27, 1934) is an emeritus professor in the Department of Engineering-Economic Systems (now the Department of

Management Science Management science (or managerial science) is a wide and interdisciplinary study of solving complex problems and making strategic decisions as it pertains to institutions, corporations, governments and other types of organizational entities. It is ...

and Engineering) in the School of Engineering at Stanford University. Howard directs teaching and research in

decision analysis Decision analysis (DA) is the discipline comprising the philosophy, methodology, and professional practice necessary to address important decisions in a formal manner. Decision analysis includes many procedures, methods, and tools for identifyi ...

at Stanford and is the Director of the Decisions and Ethics Center, which examines the efficacy and

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concer ...

of decision-making under uncertainties. He coined the term "Decision Analysis" in a paper in 1966, kickstarting the field. 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. Howard also taught a graduate-level course, "Voluntary Social Systems", which investigated the means of constructing and operating a coercion-free society. In 1986 he received the

Operations Research Society of America The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) is an international society for practitioners in the fields of operations research (O.R.), management science, and analytics. It was established in 1995 with the merger o ...

'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 The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) is an international society for practitioners in the fields of operations research (O.R.), management science, and analytics. It was established in 1995 with the merger o ...

(INFORMS) the first award for the teaching of

operations research Operations research ( en-GB, operational research) (U.S. Air Force Specialty Code: Operations Analysis), often shortened to the initialism OR, is a discipline that deals with the development and application of analytical methods to improve decis ...

management science Management science (or managerial science) is a wide and interdisciplinary study of solving complex problems and making strategic decisions as it pertains to institutions, corporations, governments and other types of organizational entities. It is ...

practice. In 1999 INFORMS invited him to give the Omega Rho Distinguished Plenary Lecture at the Cincinnati National Meeting. Howard was elected a member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...

in 1999 for contributions to the foundations of decision analysis and its application. He received the Dean's Award for Academic Excellence. He was elected to the 2002 class of

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

s of the

. The Raiffa-Howard award for organizational decision quality is named after him and

Howard Raiffa Howard Raiffa (; January 24, 1924 – July 8, 2016) was an American academic who was the Frank P. Ramsey Professor (Emeritus) of Managerial Economics, a joint chair held by the Business School and Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University. He w ...

. Howard earned his

Sc.D. Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

in Electrical Engineering from

MIT 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 m ...

in 1958 (under George E. Kimball) and was an associate professor there until he joined Stanford in 1965. 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. He was also instrumental in the development of the Influence diagram for the graphical analysis of decision situations. In 1980 Howard introduced the concept of

micromort A micromort (from micro- and mortality) is a unit of risk defined as a one-in-a-million chance of death. Micromorts can be used to measure the riskiness of various day-to-day activities. A microprobability is a one-in-a million chance of some e ...

as a one-in-a-million chance of death.

Publications

* 1960
''Dynamic Programming and Markov Processes''
The M.I.T. Press. * 1971. ''Dynamic Probabilistic Systems'' (two volumes),

John Wiley & Sons John Wiley & Sons, Inc., commonly known as Wiley (), is an American multinational publishing company founded in 1807 that focuses on academic publishing and instructional materials. The company produces books, journals, and encyclopedias, ...

, Inc., New York City. * 1977. ''Readings in Decision Analysis''. With Jim E. Matheson (editors).

SRI International SRI International (SRI) is an American nonprofit scientific research institute and organization headquartered in Menlo Park, California. The trustees of Stanford University established SRI in 1946 as a center of innovation to support economic ...

, Menlo Park, California. * 1984. ''Readings on the Principles and Applications of Decision Analysis''.
volume 1volume 2
. With Jim E. Matheson (editors). Menlo Park CA: Strategic Decisions Group. * 2008. ''Ethics for the Real World''. With Clinton D. Korver. Harvard Business Press. * 2015. "Foundations of Decision Analysis". With Ali Abbas. Pearson.

References

External links

Howard's home page
at Stanford University *Howard, Ronald.
Studies in Discrete Dynamic Programming
', May 19, 1959 - Doctoral Thesis
Biography of Ronald A. Howard
from the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences {{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Ronald A. American operations researchers Stanford University School of Engineering faculty MIT School of Engineering alumni Living people 1934 births Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering Fellows of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences