Lotfi Zadeh

Dr. Zadeh's pioneering work has been instrumental in bridging the gap between AI, on one side, and basic sciences and engineering, on another. In particular, his advocacy of the use of fuzzy logic in decision analysis has served to strengthen the ties between AI and Operations Research by making mathematical modeling more flexible and closer to human-oriented information. In addition, he has made basic contributions to uncertainty-modeling through his development of the theory of possibility, and to classification theory through the concepts of a linguistic variable and granulation.

During the last two decades, Dr. Zadeh's fuzzy logic had a wide-ranging impact on engineering systems design by systematizing the qualitative and non-numerical aspects of engineering systems. In particular, his development of the calculus of fuzzy rules has led to its wide use in control engineering, and a rapprochement between the use of rule-based methods in AI and applications of the calculus of fuzzy rules and the linguistic approach to nonlinear systems design and synthesis of neural networks. Most importantly, Dr. Zadeh's invention of fuzzy sets and fuzzy logic has influenced the thinking of generations of leaders in science and engineering. The impact of his work is certain to grow in visibility and importance in the years ahead.