computer science

Paul Strassmann

Paul Strassmann is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Paul Strassmann rather than just read about it. In short: Paul A. Strassmann (January 24, 1929 – April 4, 2025) was a Slovak-born American information technology executive, author and academic.

Key takeaways

Paul Strassmann belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Paul Strassmann to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Paul Strassmann from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Paul A. Strassmann (January 24, 1929 – April 4, 2025) was a Slovak-born American information technology executive, author and academic. He served as the first Director of Defense Information at the U.S. Department of Defense and as Chief Information Officer (CIO) at NASA. Strassmann was a pioneer in the field of information management, advocating for the measurement of information as a corporate asset and developing concepts such as "Return on Management" and "Information Productivity."

Early life and education Strassmann was born in Trenčín, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia), to a Jewish family. During World War II, he joined the partisan resistance against Nazi occupation. After the war, he emigrated to the United States in 1948. He earned a bachelor's degree in engineering from The Cooper Union and a master's degree in industrial management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). While pursuing a master's degree in industrial management at the MIT, Strassmann learned to operate a mainframe computer as part of a project aimed at forecasting traffic and determining staffing requirements for toll collectors on the New Jersey Turnpike. This work generated sufficient data for a comprehensive 600-page thesis. The experience of applying computers to address complex business challenges and improve organizational efficiency would become a defining aspect of his subsequent career.

Career

Corporate roles Strassmann began his corporate career at General Foods in 1961 and later became Chief Information Systems Executive at Kraft Foods. In 1969, he joined Xerox Corporation as Director of Administration and Information Systems. He later served as Vice President of Strategic Planning for Xerox’s Information Products Group. He founded and managed Xerox's Information Services Division, overseeing computer centers, software development, and management consulting services.

Government service In 1991, Strassmann was appointed the first Director of Defense Information at the U.S. Department of Defense, managing the Corporate Information Management program. He received the Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service in 1993. In 2002, he became Acting Chief Information Officer at NASA, where he oversaw the agency’s information systems and telecommunications. He received the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 2003.

Academic and consulting work After his government service, Strassmann taught as a Distinguished Professor of Information Sciences at George Mason University and held visiting positions at the National Defense University and the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Awards and honors In 2009, he was elected an ACM Distinguished Member. He also received the Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service and NASA Exceptional Service Medal.

Publications Strassmann wrote nine books and over 500 articles on information technology and management. Notable titles include:

Information Payoff: The Transformation of Work in the Electronic Age (1985) The Squandered Computer: Evaluating the Business Alignment of Information Technologies (1997) My March to Liberation: A Jewish Boy’s Story of Partizan Warfare (2008)

Personal life and death Strassmann was married to Mona Frankel for 68 years. They had several children and grandchildren. He died at his home in New Canaan, Connecticut, on April 4, 2025, at the age of 96.

Legacy Strassmann's contributions to the field of information economics and his influence on IT governance are widely recognized. His ideas on measuring the business value of IT have influenced industry leaders, including Steve Jobs.

External links Biography on strassmann.com

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Paul Strassmann

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Paul Strassmann claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Paul Strassmann before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Paul Strassmann ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Paul Strassmann

In research: Paul Strassmann appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Paul Strassmann in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Paul Strassmann is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1929 births, 2025 deaths, American business writers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Paul Strassmann outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Paul Strassmann in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Paul Strassmann means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Paul Strassmann out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Paul Strassmann in simple terms?

Paul A. Strassmann (January 24, 1929 – April 4, 2025) was a Slovak-born American information technology executive, author and academic.

Why does Paul Strassmann matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Paul Strassmann?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Paul Strassmann.