Dr. Harold Sackman

SACKMAN, Dr. Harold Born May 11, 1927, passed away on May 10, 2008. Born of immigrant parents in New York, he graduated Phi Beta Kappa from City College of New York, received an MA at Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in Psychology from Fordham University. In 1951 he married Kathleen Kiviat. She predeceased him days before their 50th anniversary in 2001. At RAND and SDC, Dr. Sackman conducted the ground-breaking studies in the 60's and 70's on the interaction between people and computers, and especially the social implications of what he called "Mass Information Utilities," which is known today as the "Internet." He chaired an international committee which authored a code of ethics for computer professionals. From 1979 to his retirement, he was Professor of Information Systems in Cal. State L.A. During his career, he authored or edited over 20 books. Dr. Sackman is survived by two sisters: Marsha (Don) and Anita, three children: Jeff David (Jerolyn), Sharon (Rick) and Amy, and three grandchildren: Balam, Elitzur and Asher. A Memorial Service will be held on Sunday, June 1, at 11 a.m., at Beth Shir Shalom, 1827 California Avenue, in Santa Monica.