| David Rothman | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 9, 1935 Bronx, New York, United States |
| Died | c. June 12, 2004 (aged 68) Hawthorne, California, United States |
| Occupation | Statistician, Public Policy |
| Spouse | Yolanda Rothman (1938-2011) (m.1959-1966) (divorced) 2 children |
David Rothman (August 9, 1935 – c. June 12, 2004) was an American statistician, public policy advisor, and Bowl Championship Series computer rankings author.
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David Rothman was one of three children born and raised in Bronx, New York to Lena (1912–2004) and Morris Rothman (1908–1993). Morris Rothman was a furrier. In his youth he scored well in a national math contest. Piano composition was his hobby.
Rothman graduated from Bronx Science (later called Bronx High School of Science) in 1951. He continued on to University of Wisconsin–Madison, completing a B. S. degree in mathematics in 1955 followed by a master's degree. He then went on to Harvard Graduate School of Public Administration (later renamed John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University), completing a M. S. degree in public administration in 1959.
He spent many years working as a private-sector aerospace statistician for companies like: Lockheed Corporation, Acbabian Associates, and Rocketdyne. Through Rocketdyne, he was part of the enormous scientific technical talent pool utilized by NASA to achieve the Apollo program Moon landing. Through Acbabian Associates, he was part of the scientific technical talent pool utilized by NASA to analyze the mechanical structure used in the space shuttle reloading facility called the Vehicle Assembly Building.
As part of his interests in United States public policy (such as voting in relation to Arrow's impossibility theorem), he advocated for the creation of a new United States Constitution. Under this new Constitution there would be the addition of a 7-member, 4th-branch of government. This new branch's function would have been to police, and if warranted, remove members from the other branches for cause. He authored a book about his ideas.
Although he only appeared on television once and presented once as a keynote speaker of a statistical conference in New York City, he also was the founder of a public policy think tank, FACT (Foundation for the Analysis of Competitions and Tournaments),[1] thru which he will be best remembered as one of the Bowl Championship Series computer rankings authors (1999–2002).[2][3]
He was found dead in his Hawthorne, California residence on June 16, 2004. The coroner later ruled that the cause of death was atherosclerotic heart disease.