Shanghai University of Finance and Economics are the beneficiary of over 2,000 books and periodicals which have been donated by the wife of a late Stanford University professor.

The collection of Arthur F. “Pete” Veinott, who died of lung disease at the age of 78 last year, weighed more than 500 kilograms. More books and periodicals will be shipped from the United States that will take the total number to over 4,000, school officials said yesterday.

According to Stanford University’s website, Professor Veinott was an expert in the field of operations research. He made major contributions to the theory of operations research and helped found the journal “Mathematics of Operations Research” which remains the leading journal for the publication of mathematical contributions to operations research and management science.

Professor Veinott’s lifelong collection will be stored in a new library named after him at the School of Information Management and Engineering of the Shanghai university on 100 Wudong Road in Yangpu District.

“I’m very glad to see my husband’s collection find a nice home in Shanghai,” said Adriana Diener-Veinott, the professor’s wife. “My husband was very proud of his extensive collection of books and journals.

“He was not just collecting them but actually read them. He spent a lot of time learning the work and creation of others and that’s why he collected so many,” Mrs Veinott said.

Mrs Veinott said she was very delighted to donate the books as they can be helpful for the next generation.

Students and teachers from the School of Information Management and Engineering can start borrowing the books as soon as they are labeled, school officials said yesterday.

Ge Dongdong, director of the school’s Management Science and Data Analytics Research Center, and who did his PhD at Stanford, learned about Mrs Veinott’s wish to donate the books when he was starting the research center in August.

“I think the books, especially those academic journals, are very precious. They tell the history of operations research, a key research field of Professor Veinott. The collection is the most comprehensive series I have ever seen,” Ge told Shanghai Daily.

Ge was a student of Professor Veinott at Stanford and recalled that the professor would make sure that every student understood what he taught.

He would talk to students for up to four hours, Ge said.

Veinott’s collection included the series of the journal “Mathematics of Operations Research,” including the first issue in 1977. Some famous Noble economics prize winners such as Roger B. Myerson have contributed to the journal, Ge said.

Mrs Veinott said it was a good idea to donate the books as it kept her husband’s memory alive. She said she would visit Shanghai regularly to check on the progress of the library.

She added that she had spoken to other professors at Stanford who showed their willingness to donate their collection of books to the library.