The book "Fuzzy Sets and Operations Research for Decision Support (Key Selected Papers by Hans-J urgen Zimmermann)" is the ÿrst volume of the new international series "Advances in Fuzzy Mathematics and Engineering" that is dedicated to the support and development of the theory of Fuzzy Mathematics and related areas and their industrial applications in general, and in engineering in particular. The series is supported and published by Beijing Normal University Press, Beijing (China), and this ÿrst book in the series is edited by Da Ruan and Chongfu Huang.
As editors state, the objective of this volume is twofold. On the one hand, it is devoted to answer the purpose of being a quick reference for those interested in Fuzzy Mathematics and Engineering. On the other hand, it is expected to play a major role in research and development (R&D) of Fuzzy Mathematics and Engineering, as a useful source of supplementary readings in this new series. As one of the key people in this scientiÿc ÿeld is Professor Hans-J urgen Zimmermann, who is worldwide reputed and recognized because of his acclaimed contributions to the R&D area of Fuzzy Sets and its Applications since the early 1970s, the editors of this book have selected 15 papers by Professor Zimmermann in order to show, mainly to the large number of researchers on Fuzzy Mathematics and Engineering in China, the potential, versatility and rigor of his works, accomplishing in this way the former goal of this book. The editors, besides, take the opportunity that the book o ers to pay homage to Professor Zimmermann on the occasion of his retirement.
The volume is divided into three parts: Basics and Theoretical Considerations (Foundations and History), Fuzzy Sets for Uncertainty Modeling (Methods and Tools) and Fuzzy Sets for Operations Management (Applications), each including ÿve reprinted papers. The ÿrst part consists of the following articles: Cognitive sciences, decision technology and fuzzy sets (Inform.