Herman Chernoff

Chernoff speaking in New York on October 6, 2015

Born|  (1923-07-01) July 1, 1923 (age 102)

New York City, U.S.

Alma mater|

* City College of New York
* Brown University

Known for|

* Chernoff bound
* Chernoff's distribution
* Chernoff face

Awards|

* Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1974)
* Member, National Academy of Sciences (1980)
* Wilks Memorial Award (1987)
* Fellow, American Mathematical Society (2012)

Scientific career
Fields|

* Mathematics
* Statistics
* Physics

Institutions|

* University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign
* Stanford
* MIT
* Harvard

Thesis| Studentization in testing of hypotheses (1948)
Doctoral advisor| Abraham Wald
Notable students|

* Stuart Geman
* Joseph B. Kadane

Herman Chernoff (born July 1, 1923) is an American applied mathematician, statistician and physicist. He was formerly a professor at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Stanford, and MIT, currently emeritus at Harvard University.[1][2]

## Contents

* 1 Early life and education
* 2 Recognition
* 3 Personal life
* 4 See also
* 5 References
* 6 External links

## Early life and education

Herman Chernoff's parents were Pauline and Max Chernoff, Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire. He studied at Townsend Harris High School[2] and earned a B.S. in mathematics from the City College of New York in 1943.[3] He attended graduate school at Brown University, earning an M.Sc. in applied mathematics in 1945, and a Ph.D. in applied mathematics in 1948 under the supervision of Abraham Wald.[3][4]

## Recognition

Chernoff became a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1974,[5] and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1980.[6] In 1987, he was selected for the Wilks Memorial Award by the American Statistical Association,[7] and in 2012, he was made an inaugural fellow of the American Mathematical Society.[8]

## Personal life

Herman Chernoff's met his future wife, Judith, when they were both graduate students at Brown University in 1945, and married her in 1947.[9] She died at the age of 98 on June 9, 2023.[10] At the time of her death they were believed to be the oldest couple living in Massachusetts.[11]

Chernoff turned 100 on July 1, 2023.[12]

## See also

* Chernoff bound (also known as Chernoff's inequality)
* Chernoff face
* Chernoff's distribution

## References

1. ↑ Bather, John (1996). "A conversation with Herman Chernoff". Statistical Science 11 (4): 335–350. doi:10.1214/ss/1032280306.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Herman Chernoff". MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive. http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/Biographies/Chernoff.html.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Herman Chernoff". Faculty directory. MIT. http://math.mit.edu/directory/profile.php?pid=43.
4. ↑ "Herman Chernoff". Mathematics Genealogy Project. https://www.genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.edu/index.php.
5. ↑ "Herman Chernoff". Member Directory. American Academy of Arts and Sciences. September 2024. https://www.amacad.org/person/herman-chernoff.
6. ↑ "Herman Chernoff". Member directory. National Academy of Sciences. http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/members/56980.html.
7. ↑ "Samuel S Wilks Award of the American Statistical Association". MacTutor History of Mathematics archive. http://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Honours/Wilks_award.html.
8. ↑ List of Fellows of the American Mathematical Society, retrieved 2012-11-10
9. ↑ Siliezar, Juan. "A sense of humor, giving space, trying to listen: Advice from 73 years of marriage". https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2021/04/after-73-years-of-marriage-their-advice-remains-the-same/.
10. ↑ "Judith Chernoff OBITUARY". https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/brookline-ma/judith-chernoff-11327954.
11. ↑ Stephanos, Maria (Mar 16, 2021). "Meet husband, wife believed to be oldest living couple in Massachusetts". WCVB-TV. https://www.wcvb.com/article/meet-husband-wife-believed-to-be-oldest-living-couple-in-massachusetts/35857262.
12. ↑ Fortnow, Lance. "Chernoff Turns 100" (in en). https://blog.computationalcomplexity.org/2023/07/chernoff-turns-100.html.

## External links

* Chernoff's faculty profile at Harvard.
* Chernoff's faculty profile at MIT.
* Chernoff's biography on the MacTutor History of Mathematics archive.
* Chernoff's author profile on MathSciNet.
* Chernoff's profile on Mathematics Genealogy.
* Herman Chernoff publications indexed by Google Scholar

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