Ansoff was born in Vladivostok, Russia, in 1918. He emigrated to the United States with his family and graduated from New York City's Stuyvesant High School in 1937. Ansoff studied general engineering at the Stevens Institute of Technology and continued his education there, receiving his Master of Science degree in the Dynamics of Rigid Bodies. During World War II, he was a member of the U.S. Naval Reserve, and served as a liaison with the Russian Navy and as an instructor in physics at the U.S. Naval Academy. Professionally, Ansoff is known worldwide for his research in three specific areas: