Jeffrey Yi-Lin Forrest
Encyclopedia
Yi Lin also known as Jeffrey Forrest and Jeffrey Yi-Lin Forrest, is a professor of mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...

, systems science
Systems science
Systems science is an interdisciplinary field of science that studies the nature of complex systems in nature, society, and science. It aims to develop interdisciplinary foundations, which are applicable in a variety of areas, such as engineering, biology, medicine and social sciences.Systems...

, economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...

, and finance
Finance
"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...

 at Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education
Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education
The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and a large public university system in the United States. It is the tenth-largest university system in the United States and 43rd largest in the world...

 (Slippery Rock
Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania
Slippery Rock is a borough in Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,068 at the 2000 census. It is home to the Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania.-Geography:Slippery Rock is located at ....

 campus) (SSHE) and at several major universities in China. Lin has been an active researcher in the field of systems science
Systems science
Systems science is an interdisciplinary field of science that studies the nature of complex systems in nature, society, and science. It aims to develop interdisciplinary foundations, which are applicable in a variety of areas, such as engineering, biology, medicine and social sciences.Systems...

 since mid-1980s and serves as the founder and president of the International Institute for General Systems Studies
International Institute for General Systems Studies
The International Institute for General Systems Studies is an American non-profit scholastic organization for the advancement of scientific studies and education in Systems science and Systemic research with applications in all branches of science and human affairs.The International Institute for...

 (IIGSS).

Biography

Yi Lin was born in Fuzhou
Fuzhou
Fuzhou is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute the Mindong linguistic and cultural area....

, Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...

, People’s Republic of China, in 1959. He earned his BS degree in pure mathematics
Pure mathematics
Broadly speaking, pure mathematics is mathematics which studies entirely abstract concepts. From the eighteenth century onwards, this was a recognized category of mathematical activity, sometimes characterized as speculative mathematics, and at variance with the trend towards meeting the needs of...

 and an MS degree in general topology from Northwest University, Xi’an, respectively in 1982 and 1984. During 1985–1988, he pursued his PhD degree study under the supervision of Ben Fitzpatrick of Auburn University
Auburn University
Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...

, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

, and earned his PhD degree in 1988. In 1990–1991, he did one year post-doctoral study in statistics under the guidance of Stephen Fienberg
Stephen Fienberg
Stephen Elliott Fienberg is the Maurice Falk University Professor of Statistics and Social Science in the Department of Statistics, the Machine Learning Department and Cylab at Carnegie Mellon University....

 at Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....

, Pittsburgh.

From 1988 to 1992, Lin was an assistant professor, from 1992 to 2002, associate professor, from 2002 on, a professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

 in mathematics at SSHE (Slippery Rock campus). He was a visiting professor of the GMD Institute for Computer Architecture and Software Technology of the German National Research Center for Information Technology during the summer of 1997. Lin served as a guest professor at the Institute of Systems Engineering and Management Science, Henan Agricultural University
Henan Agricultural University
Henan Agricultural University is a public university located in Zhengzhou, Henan, China.It was established in 1912 under the name as Henan Public Agricultural Major School. The school area is approximately 144000㎡...

, Zhengzhou
Zhengzhou
Zhengzhou , is the capital and largest city of Henan province in north-central China. A prefecture-level city, it also serves as the political, economic, technological, and educational centre of the province, as well as a major transportation hub for Central China...

, from 1997 to 2002; an adjunct professor at Hebei University of Economics and Trade since 1998, Shijiazhuang
Shijiazhuang
Shijiazhuang is the capital and largest city of North China's Hebei province. Administratively a prefecture-level city, it is about south of Beijing...

; visiting professor at Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Huazhong University of Science and Technology
The Huazhong University of Science and Technology is a public, coeducational research university located in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. As a national key university, HUST is directly affiliated to the Ministry of Education of China. HUST has been referred as the flagship of China's higher...

, Wuhan
Wuhan
Wuhan is the capital of Hubei province, People's Republic of China, and is the most populous city in Central China. It lies at the east of the Jianghan Plain, and the intersection of the middle reaches of the Yangtze and Han rivers...

, from 2001 to 2004; honorary advisor of Chongqing Contemporary Research Institute of Systems Sciences, from 2004–2006; guest professor and a PhD program supervisor at College of Economics and Management, 2000 – present, and executive president of the Institute for Grey Systems Studies, 2008 – present, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Nanjing Aeronautics and Astronautics University
Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics is a university located in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, China.In Chinese, the university name is sometimes shortened to Nanhang, or 南航, meaning Nanjing Astronautics.-Campus:...

; specially appointed professor at Department of Mathematics and Systems Science, National University of Defense Technology
National University of Defense Technology
National University of Defense Technology is a comprehensive national key university based in Changsha, Hunan Province, China.It is under the dual supervision of the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Education, designated for Project 211 and Project 985, the two national plans for...

, Changsha, 2009 - 2011. Since 2009, Lin has served on the board of directors of the World Organization of Cybernetics and Systems.

Lin has lectured globally and organized various large scale projects involving scholars from over 80 countries and geographic regions representing over 50 different scientific disciplines. He was a founder of the International Institute for General Systems Studies
International Institute for General Systems Studies
The International Institute for General Systems Studies is an American non-profit scholastic organization for the advancement of scientific studies and education in Systems science and Systemic research with applications in all branches of science and human affairs.The International Institute for...

 (IIGSS), and has served as its president since its inception in 1993. Since 2008, Lin has been editor of the book series, entitled “Systems Evaluation, Prediction
Prediction
A prediction or forecast is a statement about the way things will happen in the future, often but not always based on experience or knowledge...

 and Decision-Making,” published by the CRC Press
CRC Press
The CRC Press, LLC is a publishing group which specializes in producing technical books. While many of their books relate to engineering, science and mathematics, their scope also includes books on business, forensics and information technology...

 of Taylor and Francis Group. In 1999, Lin was recognized with Norbert Wiener
Norbert Wiener
Norbert Wiener was an American mathematician.A famous child prodigy, Wiener later became an early researcher in stochastic and noise processes, contributing work relevant to electronic engineering, electronic communication, and control systems.Wiener is regarded as the originator of cybernetics, a...

 Award for the most outstanding paper in the 1998 volume of Kybernetes
Cybernetics Society
The Cybernetics Society is the UK based learned society that exists to promote the understanding of cybernetics. The core activity of the Cybernetics Society is the organization and facilitation of scientific meetings, conferences, and social events...

. In 2002, Lin’s joint work was selected by Literati Club as one highly commended paper for the year of 2001. In 2002, Lin’s joint paper was judged by the Award Committee of the World Organization of Cybernetics and Systems as a best paper at the 12th International Congress of the WOSC. In that same year, Lin was inducted into the Honorary Fellowship of the WOCS.

Lin is married with three children. His family resides in Grove City, Pennsylvania
Grove City, Pennsylvania
Grove City is a borough in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, approximately north of Pittsburgh. It is the home of Grove City College, a private conservative Christian liberal arts college; General Electric; Instron; USIS; George G. Howe Co.; and a number of small businesses. It is also the home to...

.

Work

Lin’s research interests cover a wide range of topics from data analysis
Data analysis
Analysis of data is a process of inspecting, cleaning, transforming, and modeling data with the goal of highlighting useful information, suggesting conclusions, and supporting decision making...

  to laws of conservation, from the elementary structure of the universe to mysteries of the family, from the laws underlying civilization
Civilization
Civilization is a sometimes controversial term that has been used in several related ways. Primarily, the term has been used to refer to the material and instrumental side of human cultures that are complex in terms of technology, science, and division of labor. Such civilizations are generally...

s to the natural endowments of man. Even so, most of his works appeared in the areas of systems theory
Systems theory
Systems theory is the transdisciplinary study of systems in general, with the goal of elucidating principles that can be applied to all types of systems at all nesting levels in all fields of research...

 and applications, mathematical
Mathematical model
A mathematical model is a description of a system using mathematical concepts and language. The process of developing a mathematical model is termed mathematical modeling. Mathematical models are used not only in the natural sciences and engineering disciplines A mathematical model is a...

 and systems modeling
Systems modeling
Systems modeling or systems modelling is the interdisciplinary study of the use of models to conceptualize and construct systems in business and IT development....

, and foundations of mathematics
Foundations of mathematics
Foundations of mathematics is a term sometimes used for certain fields of mathematics, such as mathematical logic, axiomatic set theory, proof theory, model theory, type theory and recursion theory...

.

Systems Research

Since mid 1980s, Lin studied the general theory
General Theory
General theory may refer to:*Generalized Theory of Gravitation*General Theory of Relativity*General Systems Theory*Generalized cohomology theory*General theory of collaboration...

 of multi-relational systems under the influence of George Jiri Klir, Mihajlo D. Mesarovic
Mihajlo D. Mesarovic
Mihajlo D. Mesarovic , is a Yugoslavian scientist, who is a professor of Systems Engineering and Mathematics at Case Western Reserve University...

, and Yasuhiko Takahara, and applied the theory to a diverse array of scientific areas, including public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...

,sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...

,materials science
Materials science
Materials science is an interdisciplinary field applying the properties of matter to various areas of science and engineering. This scientific field investigates the relationship between the structure of materials at atomic or molecular scales and their macroscopic properties. It incorporates...

, and others. His work in this area was treated as representative of mathematical systems theory. Since 1995, in the name of the IIGSS, Lin has organized regular international
International
----International mostly means something that involves more than one country. The term international as a word means involvement of, interaction between or encompassing more than one nation, or generally beyond national boundaries...

 and nation
Nation
A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...

al conferences on systems research and applications.

Blown-up Theory

Continuing his works on the chaos of general systems, starting in 1995, Lin joined hands with Shoucheng OuYang in establishing a theory about transitional changes naturally existing in evolutions of materials and events in the hope of producing more accurate forecasts for disastrous weather
Weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...

 conditions. When Lin’s edited volume “Mystery of Nonlinearity and Lorenz’s Chaos” was published in 1998, over one thousand correspondences from various scholars were received within the following year. Works along this line have been practically employed in day-to-day weather forecasts of several stations in China.

Grey Systems Theory

Starting in early 1997, Lin collaborated with Sifeng Liu on their works of a new theory of data analysis
Data analysis
Analysis of data is a process of inspecting, cleaning, transforming, and modeling data with the goal of highlighting useful information, suggesting conclusions, and supporting decision making...

 for partially known and partially unknown systems. This theory was initially founded by Julong Deng of Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Huazhong University of Science and Technology
The Huazhong University of Science and Technology is a public, coeducational research university located in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. As a national key university, HUST is directly affiliated to the Ministry of Education of China. HUST has been referred as the flagship of China's higher...

, Wuhan, in 1982 with the publication of his paper “Control problems of grey systems,” in the international journal Systems and Control Letter, edited at the time by Roger W. Brockett
Roger W. Brockett
Roger Ware Brockett is an American control theorist and the An Wang Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at Harvard University, who founded the Harvard Robotics Laboratory in 1983.-Biography:...

. In 2007, they founded the Institute
Institute
An institute is a permanent organizational body created for a certain purpose. Often it is a research organization created to do research on specific topics...

 for Grey Systems Studies at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and started an IEEE conference series, named “IEEE International Conference on Grey Systems and intelligent Services,” in 2007.

Crises in Foundations of Mathematics

With an invitation from Ronald Mickens in 1987, Lin, along with Wendell Holladay (Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...

), Saunders Mac Lane
Saunders Mac Lane
Saunders Mac Lane was an American mathematician who cofounded category theory with Samuel Eilenberg.-Career:...

 (University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...

), John Polkinghorne
John Polkinghorne
John Charlton Polkinghorne KBE FRS is an English theoretical physicist, theologian, writer, and Anglican priest. He was professor of Mathematical physics at the University of Cambridge from 1968 to 1979, when he resigned his chair to study for the priesthood, becoming an ordained Anglican priest...

 (Cambridge, UK), and others, expressed his opinions from the angle of systems research on Nobel
Nobel
Nobel can mean:*Nobel Prize, awarded annually since 1901, from the bequest of Swedish inventor Alfred NobelThe Nobel family:*Alfred Nobel, , the inventor of dynamite, instituted the Nobel Prizes...

 laureate Eugene P. Wigner’s assertion about “the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics.” Continuing this work, Lin (with a colleague) addressed the problem of knowability of the physical world in 1997. Then in 2008 Lin guest edited a special volume of the international journal Kybernetes on the fourth crisis in the foundations of mathematics
Foundations of mathematics
Foundations of mathematics is a term sometimes used for certain fields of mathematics, such as mathematical logic, axiomatic set theory, proof theory, model theory, type theory and recursion theory...

 along with technical explanations on why the 2nd and the 3rd crises were not resolved as believed in history.

The Systemic Yoyo Model

Continuing his joint
Joint
A joint is the location at which two or more bones make contact. They are constructed to allow movement and provide mechanical support, and are classified structurally and functionally.-Classification:...

 works of 1998[15] and 2002, in 2008 Lin officially proposed a new model
Conceptual model
In the most general sense, a model is anything used in any way to represent anything else. Some models are physical objects, for instance, a toy model which may be assembled, and may even be made to work like the object it represents. They are used to help us know and understand the subject matter...

, the systemic yoyo, for the general system
General Systems
General Systems: Yearbook of the Society for General Systems Research, known as General Systems, is the first annual journal in the field of systems science initiated in 1956, and initially edited by Ludwig von Bertalanffy and Anatol Rapoport....

, hoping that this model could play a role in systems research as that of the points of Euclidean space
Euclidean space
In mathematics, Euclidean space is the Euclidean plane and three-dimensional space of Euclidean geometry, as well as the generalizations of these notions to higher dimensions...

s in modern science. It is found that this model can be readily applied to study structures and organizations from diverse areas.

Evolution Science

Based on his works in blown-up theory
Theory
The English word theory was derived from a technical term in Ancient Greek philosophy. The word theoria, , meant "a looking at, viewing, beholding", and referring to contemplation or speculation, as opposed to action...

, predictions of disastrous weather conditions, and systems modeling, Lin, Shoucheng OuYang, and other members of their research center on blown-ups theory, studied why modern science did not appear in China, why such theories as calculus
Calculus
Calculus is a branch of mathematics focused on limits, functions, derivatives, integrals, and infinite series. This subject constitutes a major part of modern mathematics education. It has two major branches, differential calculus and integral calculus, which are related by the fundamental theorem...

 have become extremely successful, while predicting (near) zero probability disastrous weathers is still practically impossible. After pointing out the limitations of modern science, Lin, along with colleagues, proposed how post-modern science would look like after first addressing what time
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....

is.

Publications

Yi Lin has published over three hundred research papers and over thirty monographs, and he has edited special topic volumes.

Selected Books and Edited Volumes

• 2010. Yi Lin and Shoucheng OuYang. Irregularities and Prediction of Major Disasters, CRC Press.

• 2008. Yi Lin. Systemic Yoyos: Some Impacts of the Second Dimension, Taylor and Francis.

• 2008. Yi Lin (guest editor). Systematic Studies: The Infinity Problem in Modern
Mathematics. Kybernetes: The International Journal of Systems, Cybernetics, and Management Science, vol. 37, no. 3 – 4, pp. 387 – 578.

• 2006. Sifeng Liu and Yi Lin. Grey Information: Theory and Practical Applications. Springer.

• 2003. Xiangjun Feng, Paul B. Gibson and Yi Lin (guest editors). Some New Theories about Time and Space. Kybernetes: The International Journal of Systems and Cybernetics, vol. 32, nos. 7/8, pp. 933 – 1202.

• 2002. Yong Wu and Yi Lin. Beyond Nonstructural Quantitative Analysis: Blown-Ups, Spinning Currents and the Modern Science. World Scientific.

• 1999. Yi Lin. General Systems Theory: A Mathematical Approach. Kluwer Academic and Plenum Publishers.

• 1998. Yi Lin (Guest Editor). Mystery of Nonlinearity and Lorenz’s Chaos. A special double issue of Kybernetes: The International Journal of Systems and Cybernetics, vol. 27, nos. 6 & 7. pp. 605 – 854.

Selected Papers

• 2010. Yi Lin and Bailey Forrest. The state of a civilization. Kybernetes: The International Journal of Cybernetics, Systems and Management Science, vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 343 – 356.

• 2009. Yi Lin and Dongyun Yi. Yoyo structures of general systems and Newton’s laws of motion. Journal of Air Force Engineering University (Natural Science Edition), vol. 10, no. 5, pp. 70 – 75.

• 2009. Yonghong Hao, Yajie Wang, Yuen Zhu, Yi Lin, Jet-Chau Wen, Tian-Chyi J. Yeh. Response to Karst springs to climate change and anthropogenic activities: The Niangziyuan Springs, China. Progress in Physical Geography, vol. 33(5) pp. 634 – 649.

• 2008. Yi Lin and Dillon Forrest. Economic yoyos and Becker’s Rotten Kid Theorem. Kybernetes: The International Journal of Systems and Cybernetics, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 297 – 314.

• 2008. Yi Lin and Jesus Valencia. Grey analysis of Colombian migration. The Journal of Grey Systems, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 5 – 20.

• 2008. Yi Lin, Wujia Zhu, Ningsheng Gong, and Guoping Du. Systemic Yoyo Structure in Human Thoughts and the Fourth Crisis in Mathematics. Kybernetes: The International Journal of Systems and Cybernetics, vol. 37, no. ¾, pp. 387 – 423.

• 2007. Yi Lin. Systemic yoyo model and applications in Newton’s, Kepler’s Laws, etc. Kybernetes: The International Journal of Systems and Cybernetics, vol. 36, no. 3/4, pp. 484 – 516.

• 2006. Yi Lin and Sifeng Liu. Solving Problems with incomplete information: a grey systems approach. Advances in Imaging and Electron Physics, published by Elsevier, Oxford, UK. Vol. 141, pp. 77 – 174.

• 2003. Yi Lin. Some recent progresses in applied mathematics (II). J. of Pure and Applied Mathematics, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 5 – 11.

• 2002. K. D. Liu, Yi Lin and L. G. Gao. Unascertained rationals and subjective uncertain information. Systems Analysis Modelling Simulation, vol. 42, pp. 343 – 358.

• 2002. Yi Lin, R. DeNu and N. Patel. True distance fit of exponential curves and tests of applications. International J. of Applied Mathematics, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 49 – 68.

• 2001. Yi Lin. Differential and integral calculus on discrete time series data. Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Systems Science, Volume I: Plenary and Invited Papers: Systems Theory and Control Theory, pp. 123 – 131. Also, Systems Science, vol. 27, no. 3, pp. 49 – 58.

• 2001. S. C. OuYang, Yi Lin, Y. Wu, T-G. Xiao. Physics properties of Schrodinger equation and excessive expansion of the concept of wave motion. Advances in Systems Science and Applications, vol. 1, pp. 112 – 116.

• 2000. S. C. OuYang, Yi Lin and Y. Wu. Prediction of Natural Disasters. International Journal of General Systems, vol. 29, pp. 897 – 912.
• 2000. Yi Lin, S. F. Liu. Regional economic planning based on systemic analysis of small samples. Problems of Nonlinear Analysis in Engineering Systems, vol. 6, no. 11, pp. 33 – 49.

• 2000. Yi Lin, S. F. Liu. Law of exponentiality and exponential curve fitting. Systems Analysis Modelling Simulation, vol. 38, pp. 621 – 636.

• 1999. Yi Lin and S. F. Liu. Several programming models with unascertained parameters and their applications. Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis, vol. 8, pp. 206 – 220.

• 1999. T. G. Xiao, Y. Lin and S. C. OuYang. Predictability of atmospheric eddy motions and reversal changes in systems evolution. Systems Science, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 110 – 124.

• 1998. Yi Lin. Discontinuity: a weakness of calculus and beginning of a new era. Kybernetes: The International Journal of Systems and Cybernetics, vol. 27, nos. 6 & 7, pp. 614 – 618.

• 1998. Yi Lin and S-T. Wang. Developing a mathematical theory of computability which speaks the language of levels. Mathematical and Computer Modeling: An International Journal, vol. 27, no. 6, pp. 23 – 32.

• 1998. Z. Q. Ren, Yi Lin, and S. C. OuYang. Conjecture on law of conservation of informational infrastructure. Kybernetes: The International Journal of Systems and Cybernetics, vol. 27, nos. 4 and 5, pp. 543 – 552.

External links and sources

  • http://www.iigss.net/
  • http://www.crcpress.com/ecommerce_product/book_series.jsf?series_id=2156
  • http://assa.iigss.net/
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