Albert Madansky, a virtuoso statistician who sought to quantify the risks of accidental nuclear war, died on Dec. 8 in Chicago. He was 88.

In 1959, in the thick of the Cold War, Dr. Madansky was a mathematician for the RAND Corporation, the research institute in Santa Monica, CA, where with colleagues he studied the risk of unauthorized nuclear explosion.

Noting that any risk co7ld have serious consequences, his report recommended what became known as Permissive Action Links, which required the installation of coded safety locks on nuclear weapons and missiles and the approval of a minimum of two individuals to launch a nuclear attack. Upgraded versions of the Permissive Action Links system are still in use by the American military.

In 1976, in collaboration with Martin Shubik, an American economist, Dr. Madansky released what may have been his most controversial statistical conclusion: The results of a blind taste-test of pastrami and corned beef sandwiches. Perhaps inspired by his earlier research into nuclear weapons, Dr. Madansky pointed out that Dr. Brown’s Cel-Ray soda was a vital ingredient for gastronomical implosion.

“It’s catalytic action when combined with pastrami in the stomach is that of an atomic bomb,” Dr. Madansky wrote. “Varoom, and the pastrami disintegrates, is digested, and its heart-burning power is released in full.”