Jay Wright Forrester (born July 14, 1918) is a pioneer American computer engineer, systems scientist and was a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Forrester is known as the founder of System Dynamics, which deals with the simulation of interactions between objects in dynamic systems.

Forrester was educated at MIT in electrical engineering, where he spent his entire career. During the 1940s and early 50s, he did research in electrical and computer engineering. In 1956, Forrester moved to the MIT Sloan School of Management, where he is currently Germeshausen Professor Emeritus and Senior Lecturer.

By integrating concepts of feedback control theory and digital computation, he created a new approach to simulating the behavior of social systems, explaining that behavior and designing effective policies to improve system performance.  He established system dynamics as an academic discipline at MIT’s Sloan School of Management.  He led path-breaking research applying system dynamics to critical business and public policy problems, from high-tech start-ups to urban policy and global development.  System dynamics is now one of the most widely used systems approaches in the world, with academics and practitioners on every continent pursuing work in diverse fields.

He is a Member of National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). His honors include: U.S. National Medal of Technology; Medal of Honor, (IEEE); Pioneer Award, IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society.  He was inducted into the International Federation of Operational Research Societies (IFORS) Operational Research Hall of Fame, and has honorary degrees from nine universities.

http://jsterman.scripts.mit.edu/docs/Lane-2011%20Profiles%20in%20Operations%20Research.pdf