OR/MS Today - December 1999

December 1999

The 'Gift' of Words

1999 INFORMS Expository Writing Award winner David G. Luenberger reveals his "secrets" of success

David G. Luenberger of Stanford University, the winner of the 1999 INFORMS Expository Writing Award, says he barely passed his freshman English class.

So how did he manage to author a series of textbooks hailed as outstanding examples of clear and concise writing?

He read and listened and learned, and applied what he learned to the craft of writing. Luenberger's dissertation advisor, for example, encouraged him to keep things simple. Another valuable piece of advice he found in a book: "Good writers fill their own wastebaskets, not that of their readers."

"I think that may be different now with word processors, but you still have to learn to hit the delete button," Leunberger said in accepting the award at the INFORMS meeting in Philadelphia.

Timothy Lowe, chair of the Award Committee, said Luenberger was cited "for his publications in operations research and the management sciences that have set an exemplary standard of exposition."

The citation noted that the "chief publications recognized by this award are Professor Luenberger's textbooks, and his numerous publications in the areas of mathematical programming, control theory, optimization, microeconomics and investment theory. In particular, the textbooks "Optimization by Vector Space Methods," "Introduction to Dynamic Systems: Theory, Models and Applications," and "Investment Science" are prime examples of clear and concise writing.

"The Award Committee believes that the influence of Professor Luenberger's work, and its accessibility in terms of breadth of readership, have been much enhanced by its expository excellence."

Luenberger said the secret to writing a successful textbook was to contribute new material and present it to the reader as a "gift."

"If you bring the new material as a gift to the reader, the reader will feel that it is the theory that you're presenting, rather than a theory," Luenberger told the audience. "Finally, and this is the key to success with writing, you have to really love the field. That comes from interaction with people, it comes from becoming involved in the field, it comes from wanting to teach."

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