| Richard Duffin | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1909 Chicago, Illinois |
| Died | October 29, 1996 (aged 87) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Nationality | United States |
| Fields | Physics |
| Institutions | Carnegie Mellon University Purdue University |
| Alma mater | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |
| Doctoral advisor | Harold Mott-Smith David Bourgin |
| Doctoral students | Raoul Bott Elmor Peterson Hans Weinberger |
| Known for | Work on electrical network theory |
| Notable awards | Neumann Prize (1982) |
Richard James Duffin (1909 – October 29, 1996) was an American physicist, known for his contributions to electrical transmission theory and to the development of geometric programming and other areas within operations research.
He obtained a B.Sc. and Ph.D. in physics at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on the thesis Galvanomagnetic and Thermomagnetic Phenomena, advised by Harold Mott-Smith and David Bourgin (1935).[1] Duffin worked as a lecturer at Purdue University and University of Illinois, before joining Carnegie Institute in Washington, D.C., during World War II, studying the development of navigational equipment and mine detectors.
The rest of his career was served in Pittsburgh at Carnegie Mellon University (1946–1988), and as a consultant to Westinghouse Electric Corporation. He was inducted to the National Academy of Sciences in 1972.