38. Ralph E. Gomory

Observers of operations research(OR) in the 1950s were faced with a curious phenomenon: While OR was established in some departments of industrial engineering and a few schools of business, it continued to be ignored by mainstream, scientifically oriented departments, especially mathematics departments. This seemed strange as OR rests heavily on aspects of both theoretical and applied mathematics. This explains how, in those days, Ralph Gomory, a student with both a B.A. (Williams College, 1950) and Ph.D. (Princeton University, 1954) in mathematics, could leave the academic environment without ever hearing of OR. Soon after, however, he was introduced to OR while on naval duty with the Office of Naval Research (ONR). He then worked for IBM’s Research Division, rising to the positions of Director of Research and Senior Vice-President for Science and Technology.