Gerald L. Thompson (born November 25, 1923, Rolfe, Iowa; died November 9, 2009 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) was the IBM Professor of Systems and Operations Research (Emeritus) in the Tepper School of Business of Carnegie Mellon University. From 1943 to 1946, Thompson served in the Navy as an ensign on the USS Harwood (DD-861), which was stationed in the Pacific. By correspondence he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from Iowa State University in 1944. After the war he attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology, graduating with Master of Science in 1948. He then took up further graduate study at University of Michigan, obtaining the Ph.D. in 1953 under the supervision of Robert M. Thrall. In addition to being a mathematician, Thompson also was interested in painting. The illustration shown here is a study for "Chromatic Hamiltonian Knight's Tour". The painting combines Thompson's aesthetic and mathematical skills (the indicated moves of a knight on a chessboard cycle through the color wheel). Thompson's students include Fred W. Glover. Source: Wikipedia (en)