Elinor Ostrom (1933–2012)

Abstract

Elinor (Lin) Ostrom, Distinguished Professor at Indiana University, died on 12 June 2012 at the age of 78. Her husband and intellectual partner, Vincent Ostrom, died on 29 June 2012 at the age of 92. Lin was a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences. In 2009, Lin was awarded (with Oliver Williamson) the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, the first (and only) woman to win the prize. Doubly interesting is that she was not an economist, but a political scientist. While proud of her discipline, at heart, she considered herself a social scientist.