Long awaited by China’s systems science circle, the first China Systems Science Conference (CSSC2017) was ceremoniously held in Beijing on May 13rd-14th, 2017. This conference is hosted by Shanghai Institute for Systematic Science, organized by System Science Institute of China Science Academy, and co-organized by Beijing Normal University, Beijing Jiaotong University, Systems Engineering Society of China and Technical Committee on Control Theory, Chinese Association of Automation. Guo Lei, member of Academy of Mathematics and Systems Science in the Chinese Academy of Sciences and famous internationally renowned expert in system control theory, served as chairman of the conference. With 565 experts and scholars from more than 110 universities and scientific research institutions all over China registering to attend, the conference has congregated a large amount of elites in systems science and related fields.
The opening ceremony was held in Beijing West-Suburb Hotel at 8:00 on May 13rd, and presided over by vice chairman and research fellow Zhang Jifeng. The chairman and academician Guo Lei delivered a speech on behalf of the organizers. Firstly, he warmly congratulated the convening of the conference and welcomed the arrival of all the delegates! Academician Guo, along with all the representatives, mourned Professor Qian Xuesen and Professor Wu wenjun who had given strong k support and warm encouragement to the establishment of Shanghai Institute for Systematic Science. He also pointed out that since we are now in the new era of globalization, informatization, cyberization and big data, unprecedented historical opportunities have arisen for systems science that recently, however, also encountered some non-negligible tough challenges in its development. It was in this context that Shanghai Institute for Systematic Science decided to hold this conference this year, aiming to boost the development of systems science in China and set up an interdisciplinary high-level platform of academic communication!
Six notable specialists in the field of systems science were invited to give plenary talks at the conference, including Yu Jingyuan, research fellow from China Academy of Aerospace Systems Science and Engineering, Li Jinghai, member of Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Professor Yan Zexian from City University of Macau, Guo Lei, academician of Academy of Mathematics and Systems Science in the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wu Jiarui, research fellow from Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, and Professor Hu Gang from Beijing Normal University. These interdisciplinary and excellent presentations covered philosophy of systems science, Qian Xuesen’s system thought and systems science system, what is systematics, Mesoscience depicting links between units and system, main characteristics of complex living system and system reconstruction from noisy data.
In the two seminars organized, “Systematics Problems in Science” and “Prospect of systems science development”, eleven prestigious experts were invited to act as main speakers and made heated, forward-looking and inspirational discussions about development of systems science.
In the pre-meeting special lecture series, “Computational Sociology” and “Systems Biology”, six prominent experts introduced major advances in the two fields on invitation. The pre-meeting special lecture series took place with over 200 experts and scholars present at the academic hall on the third floor of the library of Beijing Normal University on May 12th.
There were 32 groups of verbal presentation (including 6 invited ones) and 286 papers in total that were discussed simultaneously in 8 meeting rooms; 3 groups of papers and altogether 66 papers were put up.
The closing ceremony was held by the research fellow Yang Xiaoguang, chairman of the organizing committee. Di Zengru, chairman of process committee made a summary of the conference. He concluded its general situation and announced the success of it. And he, on behalf of the assembly, extended warm congratulation to the success and expressed heartfelt thanks to the unremitting efforts and hard work of all the representatives, staff and volunteers, etc.
There was a Best Poster Paper Award at the conference. Fu Huan and Han Zhangang form Beijing Normal University won the award. At the closing ceremony, 26 volunteers, like Tan Jianwei, were granted the “Outstanding Volunteer” certificate to appreciate their contribution and considerate services.
Shanghai Institute of Systems Science, declared that the second China systems science Conference (CSSC2018) would be organized by Beijing Normal University. Representing the organizer, Professor Di Zengru, dean of School of Systems science, said that they were going to strive for a better conference and warmly invited everyone to come to Beijing again next year!
Systems science is the study of the relationship among the structure, the environment and the function in systems, and of exploring evolution and regulation rules in them. With the advocacy and promotion of older generation of scientists such as Qian Xuesen, Guan Zhaozhi, Xu Guozhi and so on, China’s systems science has gradually developed over the past forty years and formed good academic basis and development trend. Systems science thought and system engineering method have had an irreplaceable and essential impact on our economic, social and cultural development and national defense construction. However, scholars at home and abroad have lacked a high-level platform for academic exchange and presentation of latest research results. Under the proposal and appeal of Guo Lei, academician of Institute of Mathematics and Systems Science in the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the first Conference of Systems Science came into being. The conference aims to explore the key scientific issues of systems science, to share the latest research results, to facilitate the exchange, development and integration of related fields of systems science, and to promote the emergence of new directions and fields!
Being commend extensively by the attendee, this conference is a milestone of the development of China’s systems science. It will definitely exert significant and profound influence on our systems science development and become a new outset of it!