Jonathan Vivian Rosenhead (born 21 September 1938)[1] is a Britishmathematician,operational researcher andLabour Party activist.[2]
Jonathan Rosenhead is the son of mathematicianLouis Rosenhead.[1] He studied atSt John's College, Cambridge, where he received aB.A. degree in mathematics in 1959.[2] He continued his studies atUniversity College London where he received anM.Sc. degree instatistics in 1961, and anM.A. from Cambridge in 1963. He worked as an operational researcher atUnited Steel Companies inSheffield in 1961-63 and at Science in General Management Ltd. (SIGMA) inCroydon in 1963-66 before returning to the academic world.
Rosenhead spent 1966-67 at theWharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and itsManagement Science Centre, whereRussell L. Ackoff was professor. In 1967 he joined theLondon School of Economics as a lecturer in operational research. He became a senior lecturer in 1981 and professor of operational research in 1987.[2] He retired in 2003.
Within operational research (OR), Rosenhead is primarily associated with the development of "soft OR" from the late 1970s, which resulted in the development of a number of new OR methods. He was the editor of the first book to gather a number ofproblem structuring methods within one volume,Rational analysis for a problematic world, published in 1989.[3]
He was president of theOperational Research Society in 1986-87.
Rosenhead was aLabour Party candidate forKensington South at the1966 general election.[2][4] His candidacy was endorsed by notable local residents, including playwrightKeith Waterhouse, designerMisha Black, writerBaroness Stocks, architectSir Hugh Casson, writerBrigid Brophy and novelistLord Snow.[4] However, Rosenhead came a distant second to theConservatives, who held the seat with a large majority.[5]
He was active in theBritish Society for Social Responsibility in Science over a 20-year period, including a stint as chair of the society. His political activities has included being chairman of theBritish Committee for the Universities of Palestine (BRICUP) and being information officer forJewish Voice for Labour.
Rosenhead was involved in the campaign against South Africanapartheid. He was arrested at a May 1972 demonstration against the English rugby team which was departing for a tour in South Africa. He was convicted of a public order offence and fined. In 2020, Rosenhead learned that a fellow protester, who was also arrested at the demonstration, was an undercover police officer working in theSpecial Demonstration Squad.[6] The fact that the police had told neither the defence nor the court about the officer made the convictions amiscarriage of justice. Rosenhead and several others had their convictions quashed in 2023.[7]
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