Henry R. Richardson III ’62 ScM, ’65 PhD

Henry R. Richardson III ’62 ScM, ’65 PhD, of Williamsburg, Va.; Dec. 25. He joined the mathematical consulting firm Daniel H. Wagner Associates (Pa.) and began a distinguished career using mathematics to plan and conduct searches at sea for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard. He was a leader in the formulation of fundamental concepts in search theory, as well as in the development of practical means for their implementation. He was the civilian on-scene analyst during the successful 1996 Mediterranean H-bomb search off the coast of Spain. He developed the concept of Search Effectiveness Probability (SEP). During the 1968 search in the Atlantic Ocean for the sunken nuclear submarine USS Scorpion, he led a stateside and on-scene search team in developing probability maps of search areas that helped locate the missing submarine in 1969. He led the project to develop a Computer Assisted Search Planning (CASP) system for the U.S. Coast Guard. For CASP, he extended the simulation techniques he developed for the Scorpion search to be used in planning searches for moving objects, specifically boats and people missing at sea. CASP became operational in 1975 at all USCG Rescue Coordination Centers. It remained in use until 2007. After 20 years at Wagner Associates, he joined the Center for Naval Analyses in 1985 as senior scientist and later as vice president and director of the Naval Warfare Operations Division. In 1987, he accepted a position at the U.S. Naval Academy as chair of operation analysis and supervised the research of midshipmen. In 1988, he joined former colleagues from Wagner Associates at Metron as head of the advanced mathematics division. In addition to running the division, he developed physical and mathematical models for laser detection of mines in shallow water. He was also interested in mathematical finance and published several technical papers in that area. In 1998 he retired from Metron, where his contributions were as numerous and varied as his many technical interests. He was a mentor and role model for many analysts at Metron as he had been at Wagner Associates. He enjoyed sailing, the study of languages, and traveling. He is survived by his wife, Judith; a daughter and son-in-law; a son and daughter-in-law; five grandchildren; and a brother.