Donald P. Gaver

Brief Biography

An active member of the Operations Research Society of America (ORSA) and the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), Donald Gaver has advanced both organizations and the OR discipline in multiple capacities since the 1950s. Born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota, Gaver served in the United States Navy during World War II. Afterwards, he received degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Princeton University. While working on his PhD, he was part of the Navy’s Operations Evaluation Group before accepting a position at Westinghouse Research Laboratories. In addition to his time at Westinghouse, Gaver taught courses at Stanford University and the University of California Berkeley. In 1964, moved to academia full-time at Carnegie-Mellon and eventually settled as Professor of Operations Research at the Naval Postgraduate School where remained since 1971.

Donald Gaver  died February 11, 2018 at his home in Monterey, CA.  

Internationally, Gaver is recognized for his research in applied probability modeling and the field of queueing theory. Though his work has been largely focused on operations research in the military, he has touched upon numerous application areas including problems in transportation and traffic congestion. Gaver is an elected member and fellow of numerous societies including the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, the National Academy of Engineering, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and INFORMS. Since 1954, he has published nearly one-hundred and twenty professional papers on a diverse range of applied and theoretical problems. 

Gaver has consulted with numerous organizations including the RAND Corporation (1987-1994), AT&T Bell Laboratories (1986-1994) and EPRI (1972-1989). His research has received funding from such entities at the National Security Agency, the Office of Naval Research, and the National Science Foundation. Gaver has also served on professional committees relating to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the National Research Council. In 2009, the Secretary of the Navy awarded him the Navy Distinguished Civilian Service Medal for his national security contributions and the positive influence he has had on generations of naval officers.

With ORSA/INFORMS, Gaver has held multiple positions. He was a member of the organization’s Visiting Lecturer Programing in the 1970s. In 1989, he served as chairman of the joint ORSA/TIMS College of Applied Probability (today’s Applied Probability Society). As a member of the ORSA publications committee, he was very active in the transportation science section of the discipline. In 2012, Gaver was awarded the Military Applications Society of INFORMS’ Jacinto Steinhardt Prize and was recognized for his “substantive contribution to our nation’s military capability” and his continued work in the area.

Donald Gaver (2015) Interview by Patricia Jacobs, July 1, 2015. Produced by the Naval Postgraduate School's Center for Educational Design, Development, and Distribution, Monterey, CA

Patricia Jacobs interviews Donald Gaver, Montery CA, July 1 2015

NOTE: The video chapter transcripts below are searchable, with search results displayed as marks on the time bar above the search box. Click a mark to jump to the search word or phrase in the video and transcript, or click on any word in the transcript to jump to that point in the video.