Daniel Berg (born June 1, 1929) is a educator, scientist and was the fifteenth president of

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (; RPI) is a private university, private research university in Troy, New York, United States. It is the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world and the Western Hemisphere. It was establishe ...

Education

Daniel Berg was born on June 1, 1929, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. In 1946, he graduated from

Stuyvesant High School Stuyvesant High School ( ) is a co-ed, State school, public, college-preparatory, Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school in Manhattan, New York City. The school, commonly called "Stuy" ( ) by its students, faculty, a ...

and in 1950 graduated from

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

with a B.S. in physics and chemistry. He earned M.S. and Ph. D. degrees in physical chemistry from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1951 and 1953 respectively.

Career

From 1953 to 1977, he worked at the

Westinghouse Electric Corporation The Westinghouse Electric Corporation was an American manufacturing company founded in 1886 by George Westinghouse and headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was originally named "Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company" and was ...

, ultimately as technical director. In 1977, he joined

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

as dean of the Mellon College of Science. In 1981, he became co-provost, along with Richard L. Van Horn. In 1983, he was appointed vice president of academic affairs and provost of

. In 1984, he was named acting president on the death of the previous president,

George Low George Michael Low (born Georg Michael Löw; June 10, 1926 – July 17, 1984) was an administrator at NASA and the 14th president of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Low was one of the senior NASA officials who made decisions as manager ...

, and became president of Rensselaer in 1985. He served as president until 1987, and he stayed on at RPI as the Institute Professor of Science and Technology. His research interests include "understanding the relationship of technology and the service sector," as well as "management of technological organization, innovation, policy, manufacturing strategy, robotics, policy issues of research and development in the service sector." In 1947, he received the Belden Medal for mathematics as an undergraduate at City College of New York. In 1983, he received the

Wilbur Cross Medal The Wilbur Cross Medal, or Wilbur Lucius Cross Medal for Alumni Achievement, is an award by the Yale University Graduate School Alumni Association to recognize "...distinguished achievements in scholarship, teaching, academic administration, and p ...

from the Association of Yale Alumni, awarded to Yale graduate school alumni who have "distinguished achievements in scholarship, teaching, academic administration, and public service." Berg was elected a member of the

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

in 1976 for contributions to the art and science of electrical insulation and in the motivation of young engineers in technological innovations. He is also a fellow of 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 Operations research () (U.S. Air Force Specialty Code: Operations Analysis), often s ...

, the

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is an American 501(c)(3) public charity professional organization for electrical engineering, electronics engineering, and other related disciplines. The IEEE has a corporate office ...

, the

New York Academy of Sciences The New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS), originally founded as the Lyceum of Natural History in January 1817, is a nonprofit professional society based in New York City, with more than 20,000 members from 100 countries. It is the fourth-oldes ...

and the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

. In 2007, he received the Engineering Management Educator of the Year award from the IEEE Engineering Management Society. The award recognizes "outstanding education or education administration contributions to the field of engineering management or a closely related discipline".

Daniel Berg Lifetime Achievement Medal

In 2017, the International Academy of Information Technology and Quantitative Management named the ''Daniel Berg Lifetime Achievement Medal'' in his honor. The award honors "an individual who has made significant contributions to technology innovation, service systems and strategic decision-making".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berg, Daniel Living people Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute faculty Presidents of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Carnegie Mellon University faculty City College of New York alumni Stuyvesant High School alumni Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Fellows of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering 1929 births