Myron Tribus
Encyclopedia
Myron T. Tribus was the director of the Center for Advanced Engineering Study at MIT. He headed the center when it published W. Edwards Deming
's book, Out of the Crisis, and became a leading supporter and interpreter of W. Edwards Deming
. He is also known in the 1970s for an insightful book called Rational descriptions, decisions and designs which popularized Bayesian methods with examples. In the 1960s, Tribus coined the term "thermoeconomics
".
. He received the Thurman Bane award and the Wright Brothers Medal
, as well as the Alfred Noble Prize
(as a joint award from seven societies) for his work developing a thermal ice protection system for aircraft. He joined General Electric and became a gas turbine design engineer, but was unhappy in industry, and went back to academia, joining the faculty of UCLA where he taught thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer. He was a visiting professor and director of research at the University of Michigan
between 1951and 1953 .
In 1961, he was named dean of Dartmouth College's Thayer School of Engineering
., where he led the faculty in developing a new curriculum based on engineering design and entrepreneurship. He saw hands-on engineering design as being essential at all levels of the curriculum, saying, "Knowledge without know-how is sterile." In 1969, Tribus accepted a post in the Johnson administration as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Science and Technology. On November 23, 1970, he left the Department of Commerce to become Senior V.P. for Research & Engineering in Xerox
Corp.
He was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering
on 1973, under Special Fields & Interdisciplinary Engineering, for his contributions to applied sciences that support engineering, to engineering education, and for professional service in education, government, and industry.
Myron Tribus "Perversity Principle": "If you try to improve the performance of a system of people, machines, and procedures by setting numerical goals for the improvement of individual parts of the system, the system will defeat your efforts and you will pay a price where you least expect it.".
, an Israeli psychologist.
In 1998, he was awarded the Deming Lecturer Award for "The Contributions of W. Edwards Deming to the Improvement of Education"
, fluid mechanics
, probability theory
, statistical inference
, and thermodynamics
, to applied topics such as sea water demineralization, aircraft heating, aircraft ice prevention
, and the design of engineering curricula. He also had a strong influence concerning the domains of industrial quality, ergonomics
, and education
. Tribus published two books; Thermostatics and Thermodynamics, which provided the first textbook that bases the laws of thermodynamics on information theory rather than on the classical arguments, and Rational Descriptions, Decisions, and Designs, which introduces Bayesian Decision methods into the engineering design process.
W. Edwards Deming
William Edwards Deming was an American statistician, professor, author, lecturer and consultant. He is perhaps best known for his work in Japan...
's book, Out of the Crisis, and became a leading supporter and interpreter of W. Edwards Deming
W. Edwards Deming
William Edwards Deming was an American statistician, professor, author, lecturer and consultant. He is perhaps best known for his work in Japan...
. He is also known in the 1970s for an insightful book called Rational descriptions, decisions and designs which popularized Bayesian methods with examples. In the 1960s, Tribus coined the term "thermoeconomics
Thermoeconomics
Thermoeconomics, also referred to as biophysical economics, is a school of heterodox economics that applies the laws of thermodynamics to economic theory. The term "thermoeconomics" was coined in 1962 by American engineer Myron Tribus, and developed by the statistician and economist Nicholas...
".
Biography
Dr. Tribus was born in San Francisco. He graduated in 1942 from UCLA, and received his Ph.D in 1949 . He was a captain in the airforce during World War II, and worked as a design-development officer at Wright FieldWright Field
Wright Field was an airfield of the United States Army Air Corps and Air Forces near Riverside, Ohio. From 1927 to 1947 it was the research and development center for the Air Corps, and during World War II a flight test center....
. He received the Thurman Bane award and the Wright Brothers Medal
Wright Brothers Medal
Conceived of in 1924 by the Dayton Section of the SAE, the SAE established Wright Brothers Medal in 1927 to recognize individuals who have made notable contributions in the engineering design, development, or operation of air and space vehicles...
, as well as the Alfred Noble Prize
Alfred Noble Prize
The Alfred Noble Prize is an award presented by the combined engineering societies of the United States, given each year to a person not over thirty-five for a paper published in one of the journals of the participating societies....
(as a joint award from seven societies) for his work developing a thermal ice protection system for aircraft. He joined General Electric and became a gas turbine design engineer, but was unhappy in industry, and went back to academia, joining the faculty of UCLA where he taught thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer. He was a visiting professor and director of research at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
between 1951and 1953 .
In 1961, he was named dean of Dartmouth College's Thayer School of Engineering
Thayer School of Engineering
Thayer School of Engineering is a graduate school at Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States, whose faculty also double as the undergraduate Department of Engineering Sciences. The school was established in 1867 with funds from Brig. Gen...
., where he led the faculty in developing a new curriculum based on engineering design and entrepreneurship. He saw hands-on engineering design as being essential at all levels of the curriculum, saying, "Knowledge without know-how is sterile." In 1969, Tribus accepted a post in the Johnson administration as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Science and Technology. On November 23, 1970, he left the Department of Commerce to become Senior V.P. for Research & Engineering in Xerox
Xerox
Xerox Corporation is an American multinational document management corporation that produced and sells a range of color and black-and-white printers, multifunction systems, photo copiers, digital production printing presses, and related consulting services and supplies...
Corp.
He was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering
National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering is a government-created non-profit institution in the United States, that was founded in 1964 under the same congressional act that led to the founding of the National Academy of Sciences...
on 1973, under Special Fields & Interdisciplinary Engineering, for his contributions to applied sciences that support engineering, to engineering education, and for professional service in education, government, and industry.
Center for Advanced Engineering Study
From 1974 to 1986 Tribus directed the Center for Advanced Engineering Study at MIT.Myron Tribus "Perversity Principle": "If you try to improve the performance of a system of people, machines, and procedures by setting numerical goals for the improvement of individual parts of the system, the system will defeat your efforts and you will pay a price where you least expect it.".
Afterwards
Tribus is a co-founder of Exergy Inc., a company specializing in the design of advanced, high-efficiency power production systems. In recent years he has focused on the theory of structural cognitive modifiability of Dr. Reuven FeuersteinReuven Feuerstein
Reuven Feuerstein is an Israeli clinical, developmental, cognitive psychologist, renowned for his theory of intelligence which states “it is not ‘fixed’, but rather modifiable”. This idea in general is that intelligence can be modified through mediated interventions...
, an Israeli psychologist.
In 1998, he was awarded the Deming Lecturer Award for "The Contributions of W. Edwards Deming to the Improvement of Education"
Publications
He has published over 100 papers on topics ranging from academic subjects, such as heat transferHeat transfer
Heat transfer is a discipline of thermal engineering that concerns the exchange of thermal energy from one physical system to another. Heat transfer is classified into various mechanisms, such as heat conduction, convection, thermal radiation, and phase-change transfer...
, fluid mechanics
Fluid mechanics
Fluid mechanics is the study of fluids and the forces on them. Fluid mechanics can be divided into fluid statics, the study of fluids at rest; fluid kinematics, the study of fluids in motion; and fluid dynamics, the study of the effect of forces on fluid motion...
, probability theory
Probability theory
Probability theory is the branch of mathematics concerned with analysis of random phenomena. The central objects of probability theory are random variables, stochastic processes, and events: mathematical abstractions of non-deterministic events or measured quantities that may either be single...
, statistical inference
Statistical inference
In statistics, statistical inference is the process of drawing conclusions from data that are subject to random variation, for example, observational errors or sampling variation...
, and thermodynamics
Thermodynamics
Thermodynamics is a physical science that studies the effects on material bodies, and on radiation in regions of space, of transfer of heat and of work done on or by the bodies or radiation...
, to applied topics such as sea water demineralization, aircraft heating, aircraft ice prevention
Deicing
For snow and ice control on roadways and similar facilities, see Snow removalDe-icing is defined as removal of snow, ice or frost from a surface...
, and the design of engineering curricula. He also had a strong influence concerning the domains of industrial quality, ergonomics
Ergonomics
Ergonomics is the study of designing equipment and devices that fit the human body, its movements, and its cognitive abilities.The International Ergonomics Association defines ergonomics as follows:...
, and education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
. Tribus published two books; Thermostatics and Thermodynamics, which provided the first textbook that bases the laws of thermodynamics on information theory rather than on the classical arguments, and Rational Descriptions, Decisions, and Designs, which introduces Bayesian Decision methods into the engineering design process.