Obituary: Soren Bisgaard, Isenberg Professor in Integrative Studies

Soren Bisgaard, 58, of Pelham, the Eugene M. Isenberg Professor in Integrative Studies and professor of Technology Management in the Department of Finance and Operations Management, died Dec. 14 of mesothelioma at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

He joined the Isenberg School of Management faculty in 2002 as its first Isenberg Professor in Integrative Studies. A passionate advocate of interdisciplinary education, he held one of three endowed chairs funded by Gene ’50 and Ronnie Isenberg. Bisgaard worked with his Isenberg chair counterpart in engineering, Michael Malone, to create interdisciplinary synergies and programs that have integrated business, science, and technology.

He also served as interim dean of the school from June 2006 through August 2007.

As a scholar and consultant, Bisgaard had an international reputation in the fields of statistics and quality management. An authority on applied statistics and Six Sigma Quality Management, he received numerous academic and professional awards, including the Shewhart Medal, the American Society of Quality Management’s highest honor.

Last May, he was recognized by the American Society of Quality Control with its Brumbaugh Award for writing that discipline’s best paper, which appeared in the journal Quality Engineering. He also received the award in 1995 and 1987.

In 2007, he Bisgaard was one of seven faculty members honored with the annual Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Research and Creative Activity.

In 2004, he became the second recipient of the Box Medal, an award issued by the European Network for Business and Industrial Statistics, for outstanding contributions to industrial statistics. Bisgaard was a sought-after consultant by many leading firms, including Samsung-Corning, Hewlett-Packard, Bell Labs, General Motors, Ford, DaimlerChrysler, S. C. Johnson, Mercury Marine, Philips and Samsung-Corning.

Before joining the Isenberg School, he was professor of industrial statistics at the University of Amsterdam from 2001-02, and professor at the University of St. Gallen’s Institute for Technology Management in Switzerland, where he directed its department of quality management and technology from 1999 to 2001. In 1999, he founded the 600-member European Network of Business and Industrial Statistics. At the University of Wisconsin, he was professor of industrial engineering from 1987-98 and director of the Center for Quality and Productivity Improvement from 1994-98.

Born in Umank, Greenland, he earned his B.S. from the Copenhagen College of Engineering, his M.S. in engineering from the Technical University of Denmark, in Copenhagen, and his Ph.D. in statistics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

He leaves his wife, Sue Ellen, three brothers and their spouses, four nieces and a nephew.

Contributions in his honor may be made to The International Mesothelioma Program or the European Network for Business and Industrial Statistics.


A memorial service will be held on campus in January.

More Information

Isenberg School remembrance

December 18, 2009.

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