IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Magazine - January 2020 - 34

Participants enjoyed the hospitality at WAC 2008
(from left): Mrs. and Prof. Zadeh, Yutaka Hata, and
Prof. Jamshidi.

Prof. Jamshidi (top row, second from left) joins the
plenary speakers at WAC2010 (Japan), including
(front row, from left): Prof. T. Fukuda (2019 presidentelect), Prof. T. Yanagida, Prof. Yamakawa (top row, first
from right), and Yutaka Hata (front row, first from right).

went on to publish more than 50 books and 30 book chapters. Among those, System of Systems Engineering: Principles and Applications [2] is well known. In that book,
he wrote:
Recently, there has been a growing interest in a class
of complex systems whose constituents are themselves complex. Performance optimization, robustness, and reliability among an emerging group of
heterogeneous systems to realize a common goal
has become the focus of various applications including military, security, aerospace, space, manufacturing, service industry, environmental systems, and
disaster management, to name a few. There is an
increasing interest in achieving synergy between
34

IEEE SYSTEMS, MAN, & CYBERNETICS MAGAZINE Janu ar y 2020

these independent systems to achieve the desired
overall system performance. In the literature,
researchers have addressed the issue of coordination and interoperability in a system of systems
(SoS). SoS technology is believed to more effectively
implement and analyze large, complex, independent,
and heterogeneous systems working (or made to
work) cooperatively. The main thrust behind the
desire to view the systems as an SoS is to obtain
higher capabilities and performance than would be
possible with a traditional system view. The SoS
concept presents a high-level viewpoint and explains
the interactions between each of the independent
systems. However, the SoS concept is still at its
developing stages.
Currently, we are experiencing the real reach of SoS,
such as in autonomous cars, industrial, medical and personal robots, and artificial intelligence and Internet of
Things systems for lifestyle, health care, and decision making. We must view the current systems as an SoS to obtain
higher capabilities and performance than would be possible with traditional systems. Prof. Jamshidi's vision is not
only promising but progressive as well.
On another note, I am impressed by Prof. Jamshidid's
personal quest for quality journals. He is a volunteer
extraordinaire, having founded more than five of them,
with the most famous being the international journals
Intelligent Automation & Soft Computing, with the late
Lotfi A. Zadeh as honorary editor, and Computers &
Electrical Engineering. His energy and passion are
unlimited in these areas as well. The holistic impact of
Prof. Jasmshidi on today's society is immeasurable, and
his current and future work will undoubtedly continue
to wield a vast influence on the field.
About the Author
Yutaka Hata (hata@ieee.org) earned his B.E., M.E., and
Ph.D. degrees from the Himeji Institute of Technology,
Kobe, Japan, in 1984, 1986, and 1989, respectively. He spent
one year (1995-1996) at the University of California, Berkeley, and is currently professor of the Graduate School of
Simulation Studies, University of Hyogo, Kobe, Japan. His
research interests include medical and fuzzy systems. He
has received 15 international awards, including the Franklin V. Taylor Best Paper Award (IEEE SMC 2009). He is an
associate editor of IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man,
and Cybernetics: Systems and a regional editor of Intelligent Automation and Soft Computing. He is a Fellow
of the IEEE.
References
[1] M. Jamshidi, "Message from chairs," IEEE Proc. Int. Conf. Systems, Man and
Cybernetics 2005. [CD-ROM].
[2] M. Jamshidi, Systems of Systems Engineering: Principles and Applications. Boca
Raton, FL: CRC, Nov. 6, 2008.

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