Morris Hamburg, 89, professor of statistics at Penn

Morris Hamburg, 89, of Society Hill, emeritus professor of statistics and operations research at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, died of strokes Monday, Nov. 14, at Bryn Mawr Terrace.

Dr. Hamburg began teaching at Wharton in 1946 while earning his doctorate in economics.

Though he joked that the lecture system was "the mysterious process by which the notes of the professor are transferred to the notes of the student without passing through the minds of either," he was an enthusiastic teacher, said his son, Neil.

Dr. Hamburg received several awards for teaching, including the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching from Penn in 1983.

In 1987, he told the Daily Pennsylvanian he considered his academic life as "a way of making a life as well as a way of making a living. . . . One of the best rewards had been the psychic income that I derived from my contacts with former students."

Dr. Hamburg's research included studies of urban economic planning and managerial decision analysis, and the development of managerial information systems for university and public libraries.

He was a consultant to corporations, governmental agencies, and nonprofit organizations. In 1966, during a Philadelphia Orchestra strike, he analyzed the work time of the musicians for the contract negotiators and found it varied from 41 to 61 hours a week.

In the 1980s, he was chairman of an advisory committee to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Dr. Hamburg was the author of two statistics textbooks and hundreds of articles in professional journals. For 16 years, he was editor of the journal of the American Statistical Association. He was a member of many professional societies.

After retiring from Wharton in 1992, he continued to write and taught in Wharton's master's program for executives. From 2006 to 2007, he was president of the executive committee of the Penn Association of Senior and Emeritus Faculty.

Dr. Hamburg grew up in Strawberry Mansion. His parents were Jewish immigrants from the Ukraine and Poland. He had no hope of higher education until he got the highest score on a Penn scholarship test. While earning a bachelor's degree, he shoveled coal at night to pay for his books and living expenses, his son said.

During World War II, Dr. Hamburg served in the Army Air Force as a meteorologist in China, advising the flying squadrons in the Asia-Pacific theater when weather favored bombing runs. He was awarded a Bronze Star for his service. He was briefly stationed in Occupied Japan before his discharge.

Dr. Hamburg retained a fascination with Asia and returned several times to China and Japan, often in connection with Penn programs, his son said.

Besides his son, Dr. Hamburg is survived by his wife of 58 years, Jean Hamburg; a daughter, Bobbie Weisbein; and two grandchildren.

No service is scheduled.

Donations may be made to the University of Pennsylvania, Development and Alumni Relations, 3451 Walnut St., Philadelphia 19104.