Seth Bonder was an American engineer who made substantial contributions in

Operations Research Operations research () (U.S. Air Force Specialty Code: Operations Analysis), often shortened to the initialism OR, is a branch of applied mathematics that deals with the development and application of analytical methods to improve management and ...

for the US military, first as a pilot during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

in the

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

and later as a consultant through Vector Research, Inc., a company he founded and later served as its CEO. Amongst his numerous honors includes being named 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 ...

Early life

Seth was born on 14 July 1932 in South Bronx of New York City to Al and Minnie Bonder, his parents who emigrated from Russia and worked in the garment district. In the South Bronx streets, Seth became an accomplished pool, billiards, and basketball player. He graduated from Morris High School, a few years before former United States Secretary of State

Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; – ) was an Americans, American diplomat, and army officer who was the 65th United States secretary of state from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African-American to hold the office. He was the 15th National Security ...

, who also graduated from there. After high school, he attended the City College of New York, but dropped out in the wake of its 1951 point shaving scandal where its players were caught shaving points during the games. He then went on to driving a truck in the city before enlisting into the U.S. Air Force, later serving for five years as a pilot and leaving in 1956.

Career

After leaving the military, Seth enrolled into the University of Maryland, where he later earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering in 1960. Afterwards, he attended graduate school at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

as its first Systems Fellow, where he received his PhD in Industrial Engineering (Operations Research) in 1965. From 1965 to 1972, Dr. Bonder served as a professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. In 1972, he founded the Vector Research, Inc. (VRI), a firm he served for more than 32 year as CEO. VRI grew to employ over 400 professionals in Michigan, Texas, and Washington DC, later merging with other firms into the

Altarum Institute Altarum is a nonprofit research and consulting organization that serves government health insurers, health foundations, and other nonprofit clients that focus on health and health care. Altarum traces its history back to 1946 as Willow Run Labora ...

. Seth Bonder was honored in 1986 when the

Military Operations Research Society The Military Operations Research Society (MORS) is a society for professionals active within defense applications of operations research (OR) in the United States. Memberships include analysts, researchers, consultants and officers in the United S ...

(MORS) awarded him its Vance R. Wanner Memorial Award in 1986, honored again in 1994 when MORS named him a Fellow member, which was the same organization he served as its President. He later was elected to membership in the

(NAE) in 2000. He was elected to the 2002 class of

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

s 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 ...

. As part of his philanthropic contributions to his profession beginning in 2002, he established the Seth Bonder Scholarship for Applied Operations Research in Military Applications. The Military Applications Society (MAS) of the

(INFORMS) awards this scholarship each year.

Personal life

Professional tennis player

Lisa Bonder Lisa Bonder (born October 16, 1965), also known as Lisa Bonder-Kreiss or Lisa Bonder-Kerkorian, is an American former professional tennis player. During her career, she won four singles titles on the WTA circuit and reached a highest ranking of ...

, his daughter from his first marriage to Julie, was married for only one month in 1999 to billionaire

Kirk Kerkorian Kerkor Kirk Kerkorian (; June 6, 1917 – June 15, 2015) was an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He was the president and CEO of Tracinda Corporation, his private holding company based in Beverly Hills, California. Kerkorian ...

, which resulted in a high-profile child support lawsuit.

References

External links

Altarum Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonder, Seth 1932 births 2011 deaths United States Air Force officers 20th-century American engineers American operations researchers Ohio State University College of Engineering alumni University System of Maryland alumni Fellows of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering University of Michigan faculty