Herman Rubin
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Herman Rubin | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 27, 1926 |
| Died | April 23, 2018 (aged 91) |
| Citizenship | American |
| Alma mater | University of Chicago |
| Known for | Karlin-Rubin theorem Rao-Rubin theorems |
| Honors | Volume 45 of the IMS Lecture Notes were dedicated to him |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Statistics Mathematical sciences |
| Institutions | Purdue University |
| Doctoral advisor | Paul Halmos |
| Doctoral students | B. L. S. Prakasa Rao Herbert Solomon |
Herman Rubin was a distinguished professor of statistics and mathematics at Purdue University, known for his prolific research and fundamental contributions across numerous mathematical disciplines. He died in 2018 at the age of 91.[1][2]
Born in 1926 in Chicago, Illinois, Rubin was considered a child prodigy[according to whom?] who earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Chicago, completing his doctorate in mathematics at the age of 21 in 1948; his official advisor was Paul Halmos. He served in the U.S. Army during the Second World War.[3] Prior to joining Purdue University in 1967, Rubin held faculty positions at several other prestigious institutions (Stanford University,[4] the University of Oregon, and Michigan State University).
Contributions to statistics
Rubin was considered a polymath with a unique ability to solve complex problems. He was a prolific researcher, publishing over 130 papers that have become standard texts in various fields. His key contributions include:
- Multivariate Analysis: He co-authored seminal papers with T.W. Anderson on the distribution theory of maximum likelihood estimators in factor analysis and structural equation models.
- Monotone likelihood ratio: He is credited with the widely used and fundamental concept of monotone likelihood ratio families.
- Bayesian Inference: Rubin was a lifelong Bayesian statistician who took the theory and axioms of Leonard Jimmie Savage literally, and he contributed significantly to the theory of Bayes risks.
- Econometrics: He worked on problems related to the simultaneous equations model in economics, including the development of the Limited information maximum likelihood (LIML) estimator.
- Set Theory and Probability: His work also included contributions to set theory, the theory of moderate deviations, and the characterization of probability distributions.
- Hypothesis testing: in collaboration with Samuel Karlin, the Karlin-Rubin theorem provides a method for finding uniformly most powerful tests for one-sided hypotheses, a significant contribution to the theory of hypothesis testing.
He was an inaugural Fellow of the American Mathematical Society and a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics.
