Passings

An Engineer at the NSF: Erich Bloch, 1925-2016
Public Policy
December 2, 2016

An Engineer at the NSF: Erich Bloch, 1925-2016

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A Pioneer of Cognitive Science: Whitman Richards, 1932-2016
News
October 18, 2016

A Pioneer of Cognitive Science: Whitman Richards, 1932-2016

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The Sociologist of Informal Labour: Sharit Bhowmik, 1948-2016
Impact
September 9, 2016

The Sociologist of Informal Labour: Sharit Bhowmik, 1948-2016

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The Sociologist of Mobility: John Urry, 1946-2016
Impact
March 23, 2016

The Sociologist of Mobility: John Urry, 1946-2016

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The Geographer of Space and Power: Doreen Massey, 1944-2016

The Geographer of Space and Power: Doreen Massey, 1944-2016

Doreen Massey’s academic career combined the geographer’s focus on space with an advocate’s focus on inequality and class. Massey died Friday at age 72.

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Showing Institutions Matter: Douglass North, 1920-2015

Showing Institutions Matter: Douglass North, 1920-2015

Douglass C. North’s contributions to economic theory have had an enormous influence on how scholars understand institutions and the process of economic change.

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Darwin of the Human Sciences: René Girard, 1923-2015

Darwin of the Human Sciences: René Girard, 1923-2015

René Girard, whose academic career began in literary theory, and whose own theory of mimesis influenced people ranging from J.M. Coetzee to the founder of PayPal, died last week at his home at Stanford.

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The Game Theorist: John Nash, 1928-2015

The Game Theorist: John Nash, 1928-2015

The impact of John Nash’s initial work has been immense over the past 65 years. It seems certain that in his absence, the frameworks and mathematical language he refined and developed will continue to provide new insights into a diverse range of problems.

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Data, Democracy, and Janet Norwood

Data, Democracy, and Janet Norwood

Making decisions without data soils the public policy process with ideology, partisan politics, and misinformation, all things the late Janet Norwood abhorred. Her voice, commitment, and professionalism will be sorely missed.

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Taliban Kills Social Scientist in Hotel Attack

Taliban Kills Social Scientist in Hotel Attack

Paula Kantor, an American social scientist working to improve the lot of women and children in Afghanistan, was among 13 civilians killed Thursday in an attack on a guesthouse in Kabul.

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Democracy’s Statistician: Janet L. Norwood, 1923-2015

Democracy’s Statistician: Janet L. Norwood, 1923-2015

Unflappable and nonpartisan, the late economist Janet Norwood blazed a path as a pioneering female statistician and bureaucrat who served multiple presidents as the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Philosopher of Fun: Brian Sutton-Smith, 1924-2015

Philosopher of Fun: Brian Sutton-Smith, 1924-2015

New Zealand native Brian Sutton-Smith, a developmental psychologist who brought study of fun off the playground and into the classroom, passed away earlier this month at age 90.

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