Lirong Jian Author

Lirong Jian received her PhD in management science and engineering from Southeast University, Nanjing, China, in 2004. She then had two years of postdoctoral experience specializing in management science and engineering at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China. At present, she is serving as a professor at the College of Economics and Management of Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics; she is also working as a guide for doctoral students in management science and systems engineering.

Dr. Jian is principally engaged in forecasting and decision-making methods, soft computing, and project management and system modeling. She has also directed and/or participated in nearly 20 projects at the national, provincial, and ministerial levels, for which she received four provincial awards in scientific research and applications. Over the years, she has published over 40 research papers and 6 books.

Sifeng Liu received his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Henan University, Kaifeng, China in 1981, and his MS in economics and his PhD in systems engineering from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China, in 1986 and 1998, respectively. He has been to Slippery Rock University, Pennsylvania, and to Sydney University, Australia, as a visiting professor. At present, Professor Liu is the director of the Institute for Grey Systems Studies and the dean of the College of Economics and Management of Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He is also a distinguished professor and guide for doctoral students in management science and systems engineering.

Dr. Liu’s main research activities are in grey systems theory and in regional technical innovation management. He has directed more than 50 projects at the national, provincial, and ministerial levels, has participated in international collaboration projects, and has published over 200 research papers and 16 books. Over the years, he has received 18 provincial and national awards for his outstanding achievements in scientific research and applications. In 2002, one of his papers was recognized by the World Organization of Systems and Cybernetics as one of the best papers of its 12th International Congress.

Dr. Liu is a member of the evaluation committee of the Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and a member of the standing committee for teaching guide in management science and engineering of the Ministry of Education, China. He also serves as an expert on soft science at the Ministry of Science and Technology, China. Professor Liu currently serves as the chair of the technical committee of the IEEE SMC on Grey Systems; the president of the Grey Systems Society of China (GSSC); a vice president of the Chinese Society for Optimization, Overall Planning and Economic Mathematics (CSOOPEM); a cochair of the Beijing Chapter and the Nanjing Chapter of IEEE SMC; a vice president of the Econometrics and Management Science Society of Jiangsu Province (EMSSJS); a vice president of the Systems Engineering Society of Jiangsu Province (SESJS); and a member of the Nanjing Decision Consultancy Committee. He serves as the editor in chief of Grey Systems: Theory and Application, and as a member of the editorial boards of over 10 professional journals, including The Journal of Grey System (United Kingdom); Scientific Inquiry (United States); The Journal of Grey System (Taiwan, China); Chinese Journal of Management Science; Systems Theory and Applications; Systems Science and Comprehensive Studies in Agriculture; and the Journal of Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Dr. Liu has won several accolades, such as the National Excellent Teacher in 1995, Excellent Expert of Henan Province in 1998, National Expert with Prominent Contribution in 1998, Expert Enjoying Government’s Special Allowance in 2000, xcellent Science and Technology Staff in Jiangsu Province in 2002, National Advanced Individual for Returnee and Achievement Award for Returnee in 2003, and Outstanding Managerial Personnel of China in 2005.

Yi Lin holds all his educational degrees (BS, MS, and PhD) in pure mathematics from Northwestern University, Xi’an, China and Auburn University, Alabama, and has had one year of postdoctoral experience in statistics at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Currently, he serves as a guest or specially appointed professor in economics, finance, systems science, and mathematics at several major universities in China, including Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Changsha National University of Defence Technology, and Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and as a professor of mathematics at the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (Slippery Rock campus). Since 1993, he has been serving as the president of the International Institute for General Systems Studies, Inc. Among his other professional endeavors, Professor Lin has had the honor of mobilizing scholars from over 80 countries representing more than 50 different scientific disciplines. Over the years, he has served on the editorial boards of 11 professional journals, including Kybernetes: The International Journal of Cybernetics, Systems and Management Science; the Journal of Systems Science and Complexity; the International Journal of General Systems, and Advances in SystemsScience and Applications. He is also a coeditor of the book series entitled Systems Evaluation, Prediction and Decision-Making, published by Taylor & Francis (2008).

Some of Lin’s research was funded by the United Nations, the State of Pennsylvania, the National Science Foundation of China, and the German National Research Center for Information Architecture and Software Technology. By the end of 2009, he had published nearly 300 research papers and over 30 monographs, and edited volumes on special topics. His works were published by such prestigious publishers as Springer, Wiley, World Scientific, Kluwer Academic (now part of Springer), Academic Press (now part of Springer), and others. Throughout his career, Lin’s scientific achievements have been recognized by various professional organizations and academic publishers. In 2001, he was inducted into the honorary fellowship of the World Organization of Systems and Cybernetics. Lin’s professional career started in 1984 when his first paper was published. His research interests are mainly in the area of systems research and applications in a wide range of disciplines of traditional science, such as mathematical modeling, foundations of mathematics, data analysis, theory and methods of predictions of disastrous natural events, economics and finance, management science, and philosophy of science.