Robert B. Wilson
Robert B. Wilson received the 2020 prize in Economic Sciences. This profile brings together the official award record and attributed background on the economist’s work and career.
Personal and professional profile
- Name
- Robert B. Wilson [1]
- Full name
- Robert B. Wilson [2]
- Birth date
- 1937-05-16 [2]
- Birthplace
- Geneva, NE, USA [2]
- Education
- Harvard Business School; Harvard University; Harvard College [3]
- Fields / occupation
- economist; university teacher [3]
- Prize
- Economic Sciences · 2020 [2]
- Research recognized
- for improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats [2]
- Prize share
- 1/2 [2]
- Affiliation at the award
- Stanford University [2]
- Institutions in career record
- Stanford University (1964–2004) [3]
Research, education and career background
Robert Butler "Bob" Wilson, Jr. (born May 16, 1937) is an American economist who is the Adams Distinguished Professor of Management, Emeritus at Stanford University. He was jointly awarded the 2020 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, together with his Stanford colleague and former student Paul R. Milgrom, "for improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats". Two more of his students, Alvin E. Roth and Bengt Holmström, are also Nobel Laureates in their own right. [4]
Wilson is known for his contributions to management science and business economics. His doctoral thesis introduced sequential quadratic programming, which became a leading iterative method for nonlinear programming. With other mathematical economists at Stanford, he helped to reformulate the economics of industrial organization and organization theory using non-cooperative game theory. His research on nonlinear pricing has influenced policies for large firms, particularly in the energy industry, especially electricity. [4]
Selected introductory text by Wikipedia contributors — Robert B. Wilson, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Official facts are cited separately.
Award and academic affiliation
The official Nobel record dates the Economic Sciences award to 2020 and lists Stanford University as the affiliation at the time. [2]
An affiliation attached to an award describes that point in the person’s career; it does not establish a current appointment. [2]
Education and career timeline
Birth date recorded in the official Nobel biography. [2]
Education period at Harvard University ended (background record). [3]
Education period at Harvard Business School ended (background record). [3]
Affiliation at Stanford University began (background record). [3]
Affiliation at Stanford University ended (background record). [3]
Economic Sciences award announced. [2]
Source-supported connections
Frequently asked questions
When did Robert B. Wilson receive the prize in Economic Sciences?
The official award record gives the year as 2020. [2]
Which institution was Robert B. Wilson affiliated with at the time of the Economic Sciences award?
Stanford University. This is the award-time affiliation. [2]
Robert B. Wilson connection map
Select a node to inspect the relationship and source.
Links retain their source-specific meaning. Award-time affiliations and links to related reading are not claims about current appointments or economic causation.
Sources and review dates
- Nobel Prize — official biography and award record ↗
- Nobel Prize — official biography and award record ↗
- Wikidata background facts (CC0) ↗
- Wikipedia contributors — Robert B. Wilson (CC BY-SA 4.0) ↗
Reviewed 23 October 2026. Historical dates and award-time affiliations retain their original context. A review date is not an event date. Background sources are identified separately from official records.