Fuzzy Sets and Systems 21 (1987) 375-382 North-Holland

375

BULLETIN

1. Editorial

This issue of the bulletin concentrates on reports of recent conferences, all of which emphasise how much our subject is being taken up by industry; earthquake prediction, expert systems and even a fuzzily con- trolled train are mentioned. I find these developments particularly en- couraging in a period when many academics in other disciplines regard Fuzzy Sets Theory with some scepticism. Furthermore, it is precisely such practical applications which often drive the theoretical development of a science. Perhaps we are only now beginning to see the flowering of our subject. In the next edition we will again carry a number of research reports from around the world.

It is with great pleasure that we are able to print a report, written by Drs. Dubois and Prade on the award of an honorary doctorate to the acknowl- edged founder of our science, Lotfi Zadeh.

There are also announcements of two new books, a call for papers for a contributed volume and a number of conference announcements.

Ian Graham November 1986

2. L.A. Zadeh Honorary Doctorate from Toulouse University

On June 27, 1986, Professor Lotfi Zaheh has received the Honorary Doctorate (‘Honoris Causa’) from the Paul Sabatier University of Toulouse, France. At this occasion a National Meeting on Fuzzy Sets, Possibility Theory and Applications has been organized by D. Dubois, C. Ernst and H. Prade. French researchers on fuzzy sets, and especially those who investig- ated this line of thought very early at the beginning of the seventies, were invited to present a retrospective of their works and the future of their research. Such talks took place in the morning under the chairmanship of Professors Vignolle and Luguet, who had initiated the Honorary Doctorate procedure. In the afternoon, a general purpose talk was given by Professor Zadeh on the past and future trends in fuzzy set theory under the chairmanship of one of Lotfi’s old friends, Dr. Giralt of C.N.R.S., Toulouse. At the end of the afternoon, a very simple and cordial ceremony took place, and the Honoris Causa Doctorate was granted to Professor Zadeh, by the University representatives. Lotfi looked quite moved, and said some words

01650114/87/$3.50 0 1987, Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. (North-Holland)