A Man of Many Professions Jay Forrester, (born July 14, 1918- November 16, 2016) was an American computer engineer and systems scientist. He led the development of magnetic storage technology that would replace Whirlwind’s vacuum-tube memory ad serve as the industry standard for memory for two decades. A graduate from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he helped develop digital computing. He oversaw the creation of a national air defense system and helped launch MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory. Later he joined what is now the MIT Sloan School of Management and founded the field of system dynamics, which examines complex business, economic, and environmental systems. During World War Forrester designed the hydraulic stabilization system for the Navy which kept the radar pointing along the horizon. Jay Forester is best known as the founder of system dynamics, which deals with the simulation of interactions between objects in dynamic systems. Industrial Dynamics was the first of many books published by Forrester using system dynamics to analyze industrial business cycles.
