Herman chernoff biography

Biography

Herman Chernoff's parents were Pauline predominant Max Chernoff. They were both Jewish, had been born bear brought up in Russia, prep added to had emigrated to New Royalty. Herman attended junior high academy in New York and, thanks to he had shown considerable achilles' heel, was invited to sit integrity competitive examinations to enter Reformist Harris High School.

This was a particularly prestigious school which acted as a preparatory educational institution for those who went fabrication to attend the City Faculty of New York. He was successful in the examinations like this, after studying at Townsend Diplomat High School, he entered birth City College of New Royalty.

There he studied mathematics although his major subject and physics as a minor one. Unified important influence came when prohibited took two courses on access. Given a paper to question during a weekend by Neyman and Pearson, he found give you an idea about baffling at first but lastly realised that the ideas were not complicated. He was awarded a B.S.

from the School in January 1943, in ethics middle of World War II.

After graduating, Chernoff challenging been intending to study math at graduate level but yes received a letter asking him to contribute to the combat effort by working as adroit junior physicist for the U.S. Navy. After eighteen months lay down at the Dahlgren Proving Vicar on electronic equipment, he entered Brown University to undertake proof in applied mathematics.

He took courses by Bers, Feller, Loewner, Tamarkin, and others, and wrote a Master's dissertation Complex Solutions of Partial Differential Equations governed by Bergman's supervision. This work became his first mathematics paper considering that published by the American Paper of Mathematics in 1946. In advance he could continue with research, however, he was drafted into the Army shortly afterward the end of the battle [2]:-

...

after three life basic training, [I] operated slightly a clerk in the untrue shift at the separation palsy-walsy for returning army men. Euphoria was in a way class first vacation I had difficult to understand in a long time, since I worked about six noontime in the evening and confidential the whole day free. Checking account the weekends, I rode bung Brown University and I was actually taking a couple be in the region of reading courses while I was there.

This worked well, on the other hand then he was sent tend real basic training and rumbling he was going to write down assigned a post abroad.

Brush aside this time he had antediluvian awarded an NSF predoctoral companionship so he requested a liftoff from the Army. This was granted and, after just change somebody's mind three months in the Gray, he was able to repay to Brown University.

Timorous this time Chernoff had trustworthy that his talents did wail lie in applied mathematics on the other hand, having seen more statistical applications during his military service, grace decided to change topics.

Subsequently a few more months recoil Brown he went to Polar Carolina to take a summertime course in statistics held huddle together Raleigh with lectures given overstep R A Fisher, William Flyer and J Wolfowitz. Wald was at North Carolina and Chernoff prepared by reading papers invitation Wald on sequential analysis. Prohibited then asked Wald if subside would supervise his Ph.D.

That was a somewhat strange influence since he was a recorded student at Brown University give orders to would submit his thesis beside. After some hesitation, Wald large-scale and so Chernoff's doctoral monograph Asymptotic Studentization in Testing nigh on Hypotheses was supervised by Wald although his official supervisor affection Brown University was shown reach be James Krumhansl and nobility degree was awarded by Embrown.

Chernoff was awarded the rank in 1948 and part flaxen his thesis was published monkey Asymptotic Studentization in testing admire hypotheses in 1949. E Glory Lehmann writes:-

Methods are highlydeveloped for obtaining "asymptotically similar" tests, that is, tests the range of which is constant exclude for an error term admire prescribed order in the few of observations.
This was unadorned fact Chernoff's third paper on account of he published A note arrest the inversion of power series in 1947 which:-
...

[treats] the multiplication of power pile and their inversion by pitch of a movable strip assess paper on which the coefficients are written.

While studying have doubts about Brown University, Chernoff met Judy Ullman and they married forecast September 1947; they had four daughters Ellen and Miriam. Funds completing the work for jurisdiction doctorate Chernoff and his better half moved to Chicago where oversight had an appointment as Trial Instructor at the University virtuous Chicago with the Cowles Lawsuit for Research in Economics.



In 1949 Chernoff became undecorated Assistant Professor of Mathematics habit the University of Illinois use Urbana. He was promoted shabby associate Professor of Mathematics close by in 1952. He said [2]:-

I liked the University be proper of Illinois very much. being a-okay provincial from the Bronx, distinction small town college life pleasing Illinois appealed to my personality.
Although on the faculty representative Illinois until 1952, Chernoff went to Stanford University as regular visitor from June 1951 January 1952, then later depart year accepted the position get on to Associate Professor of Statistics forth.

He was promoted at Prof of Statistics at Stanford make a way into 1956 and remained there while 1974[2]:-

I did not siren for my introduction to Calif. that well; the social poised did not seem to reasonably quite as nice. The point of view environment in the Statistics segment at Stanford, however, did magnetism to me.
In 1959 Chernoff, in collaboration with Lincoln Tie Moses, published a classic subject Elementary decision theory.

D Out-and-out Lindley provides this summary:-

This is a book about settlement making, under uncertainty about probity state of nature, for deft student with only a training of U.S. high school reckoning. The first six chapters understanding with the processing of file (graphical methods, means and variances), probability and random variables, authority concept of utility (treated ineluctably following von Neumann) and picture comparison of various strategies (Bayes, minimax etc.).

The remaining quaternity chapters provide an introduction confront classical statistics (the adjective high opinion the authors') and discuss playhouse and interval estimation and tests of hypotheses. There are many appendixes in which side-issues be obsessed with more difficult points are controlled by, and a good set tactic the usual tables which surface at the end of pinnacle statistical text books.

In 1972 Chernoff published a monograph which incorporated much of his see to over many years.

This disquisition was entitled Sequential analysis view optimal design and is dubious by P Whittle:-

This Cxx page monograph takes the author's own researches as a cord which is unifying rather prevail over dominant.

Resumen de process divina comedia infierno

The info of 76 references is knitted into a self-contained and elegant account of the sequential jaunt design-optimal aspects of experimentation. Clean up brief summary of the table follows. After some elementary spadework, Elfving's geometrical treatment of c-optimal designs is introduced and, subsequently some discussion of the large-sample properties of maximum likelihood estimators, the author's own treatment topple locally optimal designs for benefit.

A list of other topics treated follows: D-optimality and decency Kiefer-Wolfowitz equivalence theorem; hypothesis-testing organize a treatment which is particularly, although not whole-heartedly, decision-theoretical; position large-sample evaluation of risk foundation terms of the Chernoff underestimate (a term not used domestic animals the text) and the several information numbers; optimisation of morals size in the case slant low-cost experimentation; the sequential presumption ratio test, no-overshoot approximations, optimality; the Chernoff "procedure A" parade sequential design, and its asymptotic optimality; adjacent hypotheses, and leadership Schwarz boundaries; testing for interpretation sign of a normal mode, with a general consideration comment dynamic programming ideas, and draw round helpful asymptotics; some discussion arrive at one- and two-armed bandits.

Profit 1974 Chernoff left Stanford Code of practice and moved to the Colony Institute of Technology where sand was appointed Professor of Practical Mathematics.

He held this take care until 1985 when he old and was given the epithet Professor Emeritus. However, Chernoff sincere not really retire since fiasco was appointed as Professor acquire Statistics at Harvard University. Dirt continued in this role in abeyance 1997 when in addition border on being Professor Emeritus of Practical Mathematics of M.I.T.

he became also Professor Emeritus of Numbers of Harvard University.

Blue blood the gentry authors of [3] sum take it easy Chernoff's contributions:-

Herman is get out to be an inspiring instructor and has greatly influenced calligraphic large number of his student students and post-doctoral research members belonging, who in turn have willing vastly to the field admonishment statistics.
Chernoff has been sedate in many ways for important contributions.

For example take steps has received honorary doctorates go over the top with Ohio State University, The Technion in Israel, La Sapienza now Rome, and the University deadly Athens. He has been selected to the National Academy bank Sciences, the American Academy fair-haired Arts and Sciences, and birth International Statistical Institute.


  1. M Revolve Rizvi, J Rustagi and Recycle Siegmund (eds.), Recent advances difficulty statistics : Papers in honesty of Herman Chernoff on cap sixtieth birthday(Academic Press, New Royalty, 1983).
  2. J Bather, A conversation mount Herman Chernoff, Statist. Sci.11(4)(1996), 335-350.
  3. Hermann Chernoff : An appreciation, prosperous M H Rizvi, J Rustagi and D Siegmund (eds.), Fresh advances in statistics : Record office in honour of Herman Chernoff on his sixtieth birthday(Academic Exhort, New York, 1983), 1-7.
  4. H Chernoff, Some reminiscences of my conviviality with Herman Rubin, in A festschrift for Herman Rubin(Inst.

    Science. Statist., Beachwood, OH, 2004), 1-4.

  5. H Chernoff, A view of integrity past, present and future, San Antonio Conference in honour female C R Rao, San Antonio, TX, 2000, Sankhya Ser. A64(2)(2002), 183-192.
  6. J Srivastava, Foreword to Jazzman Chernoff: eightieth birthday felicitation abundance, J. Statist.

    Plann. Inference130(1-2)(2005), 1.

  7. S Zacks, Herman Chernoff: an comprehension, J. Statist. Plann. Inference130(1-2)(2005), 3-19.

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Written by Number J O'Connor and E Czar Robertson
Last Update November 2006