Leon Lasdon

Leon Lasdon, revered University of Texas Professor, died January 31, 2024 at Christopher House in Austin, Texas following a long battle with cancer.

Leon was born on January 29, 1939 in Schenectady, New York.

His distinguished career in higher education began when he received his B.S. from Syracuse University and his M.S and Ph.D. from the Case Institute of Technology where he taught until he received an invitation to teach at the University of Texas Business School.

He joined the faculty at the University of Texas where he taught MBA. Engineering and Ph.D. level courses in nonlinear programming and large-scale systems optimization. He held the David Bruton, Jr. Chair in Business Decision Support Systems and retired as Professor Emeritus in the Red McCombs School of Business.

Professor Lasdon was a pioneer in optimization research. His notable achievements in the field included being part of a team that created Solver, a popular Excel add-in used in business schools worldwide. His text book is still one of the most widely cited in the world.

Professor Lasdon and wife Laraine are well known for their support of the arts and are particularly proud of their association with The Blanton Museum of Art, Butler School of Music, Harry Ransom Center, Austin Classical Guitar, Shalom Austin and Temple Beth Shalom.

Leon is survived by his wife Laraine, his children, Erica Lasdon, Sasha Lasdon, his sister, Naomi Lasdon, Claire Benedikt (Britton); grandchild Kira Lasdon DeLuca; and brother-in-law Malcolm Rosenfeld.

A celebration of Leon's life will be held sometime in the future.

In memory of Leon, contributions to Austin Classical Guitar and Temple Beth Shalom would be appreciated. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared on AustinNaturalFunerals.com.