Hugh Jordan Miser

Hugh Miser’s career path began as a university professor, but his World War II (WWII) service as a civilian military analyst brought him into the then embryonic field of operations research (OR). Once he was committed to OR, he helped shape this new profession in many important ways. He was a founding member of the Operations Research Society of America (ORSA), served as its secretary and president (1962), as well as the editor of its journal. By his lectures and writings, he was recognized internationally as the conscience of the field—a prime mover whose main concern was the establishment of OR as a science and a profession. He received the Military Applications Society’s Jacinto Steinhardt Memorial Award for outstanding contributions to military OR, ORSA’s Kimball Medal for distinguished service to the society and the profession, and was inducted into the International Federation of Operational Research Societies’ (IFORS) Hall of Fame. He was awarded the U.S. Air Force medal for outstanding and exceptional civil service.