(CNN) A year and a half after his death, a Nobel laureate's legacy lives on.

Thomas Schelling won the Nobel prize in economics in 2005 for his work on game theory in relation to conflict resolution and avoiding war. He died at age 95 in 2016. Last week, his family auctioned off his medal and donated the $187,000 in proceeds to a cause close to his heart.

"Tom, a most rational man, was also someone who felt empathy, especially towards those whom he perceived to be unjustly treated," his widow, Alice Schelling, said in a statement. "For that reason, he and I have been longtime supporters of the Southern Poverty Law Center and it was Tom's wish that his Nobel medal be auctioned off and the proceeds donated to the SPLC. Hate and extremism should have no place in our country."

The 18-karat medal was sold by Nate D. Sanders Auctions.

Schelling was considered one of the foremost experts in game theory regarding nuclear arms strategy.

According to Sanders Auctions, the medal has "T.C. SCHELLING MMV'' is engraved to the rim, and the medal's reverse contains the north star emblem of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, with the phrase ''Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien'' applied.

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