Professor Hua Loo-Keng is the first person to have undertaken the task of popularizing mathematical methods in China. As early as 1958, he proposed that the application of operations research methods be initiated in industrial production. With his students, Yu Ming-I, Wan Zhe Xian and Wang Yuan, Professor Hua visited various transportation departments to promote mathematical methods for dealing with transportation problems, and a mass campaign was organized by them and other mathematicians to advance and apply linear programming methods to industrial production in Beijing and in Shandong province. However, due to the fact that these methods have limited applications and their computation is rather complex, their popularization and utilization in China have so far been restricted to a small number of sectors such as the above mentioned transportation departments. In 1958 Hua Loo--Keng proposed the use of Input-Output methods in the formulation of national economic plans. Apart from publicizing this method, he carried out in-depth research on the subject. He also gave lectures on related non-negative matrix theory, pointing out the economic significance of various theoretical results.

Professor Hua Loo-Keng is the first person to have undertaken the task of popularizing mathematical methods in China. As early as 1958, he proposed that the application of operations research methods be initiated in industrial production. With his students, Yu Ming-I, Wan Zhe Xian and Wang Yuan, Professor Hua visited various transportation departments to promote mathematical methods for dealing with transportation problems, and a mass campaign was organized by them and other mathematicians to advance and apply linear programming methods to industrial production in Beijing and in Shandong province. However, due to the fact that these methods have limited applications and their computation is rather complex, their popularization and utilization in China have so far been restricted to a small number of sectors such as the above mentioned transportation departments. In 1958 Hua Loo--Keng proposed the use of Input-Output methods in the formulation of national economic plans. Apart from publicizing this method, he carried out in-depth research on the subject. He also gave lectures on related non-negative matrix theory, pointing out the economic significance of various theoretical results.

The second edition of this book illuminates the fundamental principle and applications of probability-based multi-objective optimization for material selection in viewpoint of system theory, in which a brand new concept of preferable probability and its assessment as well as other treatments are introduced by authors for the first time. Hybrids of the new approach with experimental design methodologies (response surface methodology, orthogonal experimental design, and uniform experimental design) are all performed; robustness assessment and performance utility with desirable value are included; discretization treatment in the evaluation is presented; fuzzy-based approach and cluster analysis are involved; applications in portfolio investment and shortest path problem are concerned as well. The authors wish this work will cast a brick to attract jade and would make its contributions to relevant fields as a paving stone. It is designed to be used as a textbook for postgraduate and advanced undergraduate students in relevant majors, while also serving as a valuable reference book for scientists and engineers involved in related fields.

This volume presents a comprehensive collection of Wang YuanOCOs original important papers which are not available elsewhere, since the majority of the papers were published in China. Covering both pure number theory and applied mathematics, this book is important for understanding Wang YuanOCOs academic career and also the development of Chinese mathematics in recent years, since Wang YuanOCOs work has a wide-ranging influence in China. Wang Yuan is a professor and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He received his honorable Doctorship from Hong Kong Baptist University. He has published 70 papers and ten books."

Henry O. Pollak Chairman of the International Program Committee Bell Laboratories Murray Hill, New Jersey, USA The Fourth International Congress on Mathematics Education was held in Berkeley, California, USA, August 10-16, 1980. Previous Congresses were held in Lyons in 1969, Exeter in 1972, and Karlsruhe in 1976. Attendance at Berkeley was about 1800 full and 500 associate members from about 90 countries; at least half of these come from outside of North America. About 450 persons participated in the program either as speakers or as presiders; approximately 40 percent of these came from the U.S. or Canada. There were four plenary addresses; they were delivered by Hans Freudenthal on major problems of mathematics education, Hermina Sinclair on the relationship between the learning of language and of mathematics, Seymour Papert on the computer as carrier of mathematical culture, and Hua Loo-Keng on popularising and applying mathematical methods. Gearge Polya was the honorary president of the Congress; illness prevented his planned attendence but he sent a brief presentation entitled, "Mathematics Improves the Mind". There was a full program of speakers, panelists, debates, miniconferences, and meetings of working and study groups. In addition, 18 major projects from around the world were invited to make presentations, and various groups representing special areas of concern had the opportunity to meet and to plan their future activities.