{"id":13619,"date":"2025-05-07T14:03:27","date_gmt":"2025-05-07T14:03:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smhf.org\/?p=13619"},"modified":"2025-05-07T14:03:27","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T14:03:27","slug":"andrew-economos-ph-d","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hub.coffee\/smhf\/andrew-economos-ph-d\/","title":{"rendered":"Andrew Economos, Ph.D."},"content":{"rendered":"

SPRING 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

INNOVATOR SUPPORTS INNOVATION AT HOME
\nAndrew Economos, Ph.D., makes a significant gift to support the new Kolschowsky Research and Education Institute at Sarasota Memorial<\/em><\/h4>\n

Most people who celebrate their 88th birthday on April Fools\u2019 Day enjoy the irony. But for this Sarasota-born tech pioneer, turning 88 is just another chapter in a life of innovation, reinvention\u2014and a little afternoon wine.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still do things,\u201d Andrew says, smiling and waving off the idea of slowing down. \u201cYou keep your mind going, you keep your body active.\u201d<\/p>\n

A BRIEF HISTORY<\/strong>
\nBorn at Sarasota Memorial Hospital in 1937, Andrew grew up working hard\u2014delivering telegrams on his bicycle, lifeguarding\u2014before heading to the University of Florida, where he earned both bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degrees in mathematics. There, he met Judith. \u201cI was a grad student, working on my master\u2019s,\u201d he recalls. \u201cWe met, we clicked and that was that.\u201d They married soon after.<\/p>\n

Andrew has many stories to tell, and nearly all of them include Judith, to whom he was married for 63 years before she lost her battle with cancer in 2024. By all accounts, it was an epic romance, and a partnership in every sense\u2014intellectual, emotional and philanthropic.<\/p>\n

FROM ROCKETS TO RADIO, TV AND RESEARCH<\/strong>
\nAndrew started in computers in 1957 at Cape Canaveral, touching the front lines of early computing. \u201cThe boss said, \u2018Oh, you\u2019re a mathematician? You\u2019ll love this.\u2019\u201d And he did.<\/p>\n

Later, he and Judith moved to California, where he joined Douglas Aircraft\u2019s advanced design team, contributing to lunar module and rocket systems. While there, Andrew and Judith both earned doctorates at UCLA\u2014his in mathematics, hers in philosophy. But soon, his talents veered into uncharted territory.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone asked me to simulate a business process,\u201d he says. \u201cNo one was using computers for business analytics. There was no Excel\u2014I could\u2019ve invented it!\u201d<\/p>\n

Eventually, the couple headed to Princeton, where Andrew joined Sarnoff Labs, a tech company that owned Hertz, NBC and more. Judith became a philosophy professor at Princeton University.<\/p>\n

From there, Andrew transitioned to NBC, where he revolutionized scheduling systems. \u201cScheduling a plane seat is like scheduling a TV commercial\u2014everyone wants the best spot.\u201d His insight led to a reservation-like system for ad placements, a media industry first. After 15 years, he launched his own company, RCS (Radio Computing Services).<\/p>\n

RCS solved one of radio\u2019s trickiest issues\u2014music scheduling. Andrew\u2019s software automated a subjective and often flawed process, helping over 1,000 stations structure their playlists.<\/p>\n

At its height, RCS operated in more than 100 countries, with 24 international offices. He ran the company for 30 years before selling it and moving back to Sarasota in 2010.<\/p>\n

RETURNING TO SARASOTA<\/strong>
\nThough Andrew\u2019s career spanned the globe, Sarasota always called him home. Andrew and Judith\u2019s lives here were steeped in curiosity, creativity and a shared love of art.<\/p>\n

Touring Andrew\u2019s downtown apartment today is like walking through an art gallery. The art\u2014mostly Judith\u2019s work\u2014comes alive with Andrew\u2019s stories, rich with pride and love. It must be noted that much of the furniture in the apartment was carved by their hands.<\/p>\n

The couple was also devoted philanthropists. In Sarasota, they have supported various arts, culture and student scholarship programs. Judith was also a generous supporter of Sarasota Memorial Hospital.<\/p>\n

Andrew\u2019s gift to the Healthcare Foundation will name the Operating Room Simulation Lab at the Kolschowsky Institute. The high-tech lab, a replica of an actual OR and populated with lifelike electronic patients, will serve as a training ground for nurses, techs and medical students. The lab will be named in memory of Judith Economos, Ph.D. Andrew says his gift also honors Kirk Voelker, M.D. Dr. Voelker cared for Judith during her illness and remains a close friend.<\/p>\n

When asked why philanthropy is important to him, Andrew says, simply, he has resources and he likes to help people. \u201cIt brings me joy,\u201d he says. He\u2019s especially drawn to healthcare. \u201cWe have an extraordinary health system,\u201d he explains. \u201cAnd I like research. I\u2019m interested in finding cures.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SPRING 2025 INNOVATOR SUPPORTS INNOVATION AT HOME Andrew Economos, Ph.D., makes a significant gift to support the new Kolschowsky Research and Education Institute at Sarasota Memorial Most people who celebrate their 88th birthday on April Fools\u2019 Day enjoy the irony. But for this Sarasota-born tech pioneer, turning 88 is just another chapter in a life...","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":13620,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-donor-stories"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hub.coffee\/smhf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hub.coffee\/smhf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hub.coffee\/smhf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hub.coffee\/smhf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hub.coffee\/smhf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13619"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hub.coffee\/smhf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13619\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13623,"href":"https:\/\/hub.coffee\/smhf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13619\/revisions\/13623"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hub.coffee\/smhf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hub.coffee\/smhf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hub.coffee\/smhf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hub.coffee\/smhf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}