About Hirotugu Akaike
Hirotugu Akaike was a Japanese statistician. In the early 1970s, he formulated the Akaike information criterion (AIC). AIC is now widely used for model selection, which is commonly the most difficult aspect of statistical inference; additionally, AIC is the basis of a paradigm for the foundations of statistics. Akaike also made major contributions to the study of time series. In addition, he had a large role in the general development of statistics in Japan. Hirotugu Akaike was born to a silkworm farmer in Fujinomiya City; he was the youngest of four brothers. AIC was first formally described in a research paper by Akaike (1974). In 1989, Akaike was awarded the Asahi Prize and the Purple Ribbon Medal. In 1988, he founded the Department of Statistical Science at the Graduate University for Advanced Studies; he was chair of the department from the founding until his retirement in 1994.
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