Emeritus Professor, Department of Economics, Political Science and Public Policy at UCLA
Professor Michael Intriligator, emeritus professor of economics, political science and public policy at UCLA passed away on June 23, 2014 after a long illness.
Intriligator joined the UCLA faculty in 1963 as an assistant professor of economics after earning his MA from Yale University and his PhD at MIT. A tremendous scholar, he left an indelible mark on his colleagues across campus as he later joined the political science and public policy departments, where he taught courses on international relations, econometrics and economic theory.
From 1982 to 1992, Intriligator served as director of the UCLA Center for International and Strategic Affairs, the predecessor of the Burkle Center for International Relations. Even after his tenure as the Center's director ended, Intriligator remained involved as an active and highly valued participant and advisor to the Center.
His academic research focused on economic theory, econometrics, health economics, and strategy and arms control. His most recent work concerned health care reform, the proliferation of nuclear weapons, global security, and Russia's attempted transition to a market economy. He served as an expert witness on health economic issues for over two decades, testified before the US Commission on Improving the Effectiveness of the United Nations, and was a consultant to organizations including the Center for National Securities Studies at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
In addition, Intriligator was a Senior Fellow of the Milken Institute and the Gorbachev Foundation of North America; authored more than 300 journal articles and other publications in economics; served as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and the Russian Academy of Sciences; and was vice chair and board member of Economists for Peace and Security.
Intriligator was central to establishing the UCLA School of Public Affairs, the development of the Public Policy curriculum and initial recruitment of the Public Policy faculty (then Policy Studies). After his retirement in 1994, he continued to be a prominent figure in the lives of many faculty members and students, as the long-time organizer of the Marschak Interdisciplinary Colloquium on Mathematics in the Behavior Sciences at UCLA.
Intriligator is survived by his wife Devrie (a research physicist at Carmel Research Center and a world renowned expert on space plasma physics) and four sons: Kenneth (professor of physics at UC San Diego), William (conductor of the Dubuque, Iowa, and Cheyenne, Montana, symphony orchestras), James (professor of psychology, Bangor University in Wales), and Robert (a Los Angeles-based composer).
UCLA's Department of Economics has published a memorial written by Distinguished Professor of Economics John Riley. To view the article, please click here.
An obituary has also been published in The Los Angeles Times.Published: Friday, June 27, 2014
