In Memoriam: Michael H. Rothkopf, 1939-2008

Miichael Rothkopf was an applied mathematical modeler who studied and wrote about auctions and bidding since 1965. Most recently he was Smeal Chaired Professor of Supply Chain and Information Systems at Penn State's Smeal College of Business. 

He had been a business school faculty member specializing in operations research at Rutgers University since 1989. He worked in industry for 24 years at Shell, Xerox PARC, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. 

His undergraduate degree was a Bachelor of Arts in math from Pomona College, and he held a master's degree in industrial management and a Ph.D. in operations research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was editor of Interfaces and president of INFORMS.  He has consulted, been an expert witness, and written widely on auctions, thinking about them in a controversial way, as some may say.

Mike was a life member of the National Audubon Society, and, as such an avid bird watcher, had recently identified his 1000th bird species. He loved world travel, most recently completing trips to South Africa and Puerto Rico. Staying fit was a priority, so he kept up a rigorous routine of a daily one-mile swim.

Mike is survived by his loving wife Laura L. Rothkopf; a son, Alan, and his wife, Sylvie, of Paris, France; a daughter, Anne; a stepdaughter, Kim Borluca, and her husband, Erol, and their three children, of Easton, Pa.; and a stepson, William Morris, and his wife, Sharon, and their two children, of Middletown, N.J.

A memorial service is scheduled for 10 a.m. on March 29 at the Eisenhower Chapel on Penn State's University Park campus, with a reception to follow.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Michael H. Rothkopf Graduate Fellowship at the Smeal College of Business. The address: Michael Rothkopf Fellowship, 210 Business Building, University Park, Pa. 16802.