Biographical Information

LOTFI A. ZADEH

Professional affiliation and title

Short Curriculum Vita

Lotfi A. Zadeh joined the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1959, and served as its chairman from 1963 to 1968. Earlier, he was a member of the electrical engineering faculty at Columbia University. In 1956, he was a visiting member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. In addition, he held a number of other visiting appointments, among them a visiting professorship in Electrical Engineering at MIT in 1962 and 1968; a visiting scientist appointment at IBM Research Laboratory, San Jose, CA, in 1968, 1973, and 1977; and visiting scholar appointments at the AI Center, SRI International, in 1981, and at the Center for the Study of Language and Information, Stanford University, in 1987-1988. Currently he is a Professor in the Graduate School, and is serving as the Director of BISC (Berkeley Initiative in Soft Computing). Until 1965, Dr. Zadeh's work had been centered on system theory and decision analysis. Since then, his research interests have shifted to the theory of fuzzy sets and its applications to artificial intelligence, linguistics, logic, decision analysis, control theory, expert systems and neural networks. Currently, his research is focused on fuzzy logic, soft computing, computing with words, and the newly developed computational theory of perceptions. An alumnus of the University of Teheran, MIT, and Columbia University, Dr. Zadeh is a fellow of the IEEE, AAAS, ACM and AAAI, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He held NSF Senior Postdoctoral Fellowships in 1956-57 and 1962-63, and was a Guggenheim Foundation Fellow in 1968. Dr. Zadeh was the recipient of the IEEE Education Medal in 1973 and a recipient of the IEEE Centennial Medal in 1984. In 1989, Dr. Zadeh was awarded the Honda Prize by the Honda Foundation, and in 1991 received the Berkeley Citation, University of California.

In 1992, Dr. Zadeh was awarded the IEEE Richard W. Hamming Medal "For seminal contributions to information science and systems, including the conceptualization of fuzzy sets." He became a Foreign Member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences (Computer Sciences and Cybernetics Section) in 1992 and received the Certificate of Commendation for AI Special Contributions Award from the International Foundation for Artificial Intelligence. Also in 1992, he was awarded the Kampe de Feriet Medal and became an Honorary Member of the Austrian Society of Cybernetic Studies.

In 1993, Dr. Zadeh received the Rufus Oldenburger Medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers "For seminal contributions in system theory, decision analysis, and theory of fuzzy sets and its applications to AI, linguistics, logic, expert systems and neural networks." He was also awarded the Grigore Moisil Prize for Fundamental Researches, and the Premier Best Paper Award by the Second International Conference on Fuzzy Theory and Technology. In 1995, Dr. Zadeh was awarded the IEEE Medal of Honor "For pioneering development of fuzzy logic and its many diverse applications." In 1996, Dr. Zadeh was awarded the Okawa Prize "For outstanding contribution to information science through the development of fuzzy logic and its applications." In 1997, Dr. Zadeh was awarded the B. Bolzano Medal by the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic "For outstanding achievements in fuzzy mathematics." He also received the J.P. Wohl Career Achievement Award of the IEEE Systems, Science and Cybernetics Society. He served as a Lee Kuan Yew Distinguished Visitor, lecturing at the National University of Singapore and the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, and as the Gulbenkian Foundation Visiting Professor at the New University of Lisbon in Portugal. In 1998, Dr. Zadeh was awarded the Edward Feigenbaum Medal by the International Society for Intelligent Systems, and the Richard E. Bellman Control Heritage Award by the American Council on Automatic Control. In addition, he received the Information Science Award from the Association for Intelligent Machinery and the SOFT Scientific Contribution Memorial Award from the Society for Fuzzy Theory in Japan. In 1999, he was elected to membership in Berkeley Fellows. Dr. Zadeh holds honorary doctorates from Paul-Sabatier University, Toulouse, France; State University of New York, Binghamton, NY; University of Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany; University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain; University of Granada, Granada, Spain; Lakehead University, Canada; University of Louisville, KY; Baku State University, Azerbaijan; the Silesian Technical University, Gliwice, Poland; the University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, and the University of Ostrava, Ostrava, the Czech Republic. Dr. Zadeh has authored close to two hundred papers and serves on the editorial boards of over fifty journals. He is a member of the Technology Advisory Board, U.S. Postal Service; Advisory Board, Fuzzy Initiative, North Rhine-Westfalia, Germany; Advisory Board, Fuzzy Logic Research Center, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas; Advisory Committee, Center for Education and Research in Fuzzy Systems and Artificial Intelligence, Iasi, Romania; Senior Advisory Board, International Institute for General Systems Studies; the Board of Governors, International Neural Networks Society; and is the Honorary President of the Biomedical Fuzzy Systems Association of Japan and the Spanish Association for Fuzzy Logic and Technologies. In addition, he is a member of the International Steering Committee, Hebrew University School of Engineering, and a member of the Advisory Board of the National Center for Science Information Systems, Tokyo.

Biographical Note

LOTFI A. ZADEH is a Professor in the Graduate School, Computer Science Division, Depart ment of EECS, University of California, Berkeley. In addition, he is serving as the Director of BISC (Berkeley Initiative in Soft Computing).

Lotfi Zadeh is an alumnus of the University of Teheran, MIT and Columbia University. He held visiting appointments at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ; MIT; IBM Research Laboratory, San Jose, CA; SRI International, Menlo Park, CA; and the Center for the Study of Language and Information, Stanford University. His earlier work was concerned in the main with systems analysis, decision analysis and information systems. His current research is focused on fuzzy logic, computing with words and soft computing, which is a coalition of fuzzy logic, neurocomputing, evolutionary computing, probabilistic computing and parts of machine learning. The guiding principle of soft computing is that, in general, better solutions can be obtained by employing the constituent methodologies of soft computing in combination rather than in stand-alone mode.

Lotfi Zadeh is a Fellow of the IEEE, AAAS, ACM and AAAI. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Foreign Member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences. He is a recipient of the IEEE Education Medal, the IEEE Richard W. Hamming Medal, the IEEE Medal of Honor, the ASME Rufus Oldenburger Medal, the B. Bolzano Medal of the Czech Academy of Sciences, the Kampe de Feriet Medal, the AACC Richard E. Bellman Central Heritage Award, the Grigore Moisil Prize, the Honda Prize, the Okawa Prize, the AIM Information Science Award, the IEEE-SMC J. P. Wohl Career Acheivement Award, the SOFT Scietific Contribution Memorial Award of the Japan Society for Fuzzy Theory, and other awards and honorary doctorates. He has published extensively on a wide variety of subjects relating to the conception, design and analysis of information/intelligent systems, and is serving on the editorial boards of over fifty journals.

Principal employment and affiliations

• Member of the faculty, Department of Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, 1950-1959.
• Member of the faculty, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences,
• University of California, Berkeley, 1959-present.
• EECS Department Chairman, 1963-1968.
• Professor in the Graduate School and Director of the Berkeley Initiative in Soft Computing (BISC), 1991-present.
• Visiting member, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, 1956.
• Visiting Professor, MIT, 1963 and 1968.
• Visiting Scientist, IBM Research Laboratory, San Jose, CA, 1968, 1971, 1974, and 1977.
• Visiting Scientist, SRI International, 1981.
• Visiting Scholar, Center for the Study of Language and Information, Stanford University, 1987.

Editorial affiliations

• Evolutionary Optimization Journal Editorial Board
• International Journal of Computer Research (IJCR) Editorial Board
• Information Fusion Journal Editorial Board
• International Journal of Computational Intelligence and Organizations Editorial Borad.
• Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications Editorial Board.
• The IEEE-Oxford Encyclopedia of Electrical Engineering and Conputer Science Advisory Board.
• Integrated Computer-Aided Engineering, Editorial Advisory Board.
• Applied Intelligence, Editorial Board.
• Applied Mathematics Letters, Editorial Board.
• Fuzzy Sets and Systems, Editor.
• Fuzzy Mathematics, Editorial Board.
• Bulletin on Fuzzy Sets and Their Applications, Honorary Correspondent.
• Journal of Computer and System Sciences, Editor.
• Journal of Mathematical Analysis and Applications, Associate Editor.
• Information Sciences, Associate Editor.
• Information Systems, Editorial Advisory Board.
• Cybernetics and Systems, Editorial Advisory Board.
• Policy Analysis and Information Systems, Area Editor.
• Networks, Associate Editor.
• Computers and Structures, Editorial Board.
• Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications, Editorial Board.
• Mathematical and Computer Modeling, Editorial Board.
• Journal of Information and Optimization Sciences, Editorial Board.
• Journal of General Systems, Editorial Board.
• The International Journal of Systems, Measurement and Decision, Editorial Board.
• Future Generations Computer Systems, Editorial Board.
• International Journal of Expert Systems, Editorial Board.
• International Journal of Pattern Recognition & Artificial Intelligence, Editorial Board.
• Data Knowledge and Engineering, Advisory Editor.
• International Journal of Intelligent Systems, Editorial Board.
• Journal of Parallel and Distributed Computing, Area Editor.
• Japan Artificial Intelligence Newsletter, Editorial Board.
• AI in Medicine, Editorial Board.
• International Journal of Approximate Reasoning, Editorial Board.
• Mathematical and Statistical Methods - Reidel, Editorial Board.
• International Journal on Artificial Intelligence Tools, Advisory Board.
• Journal of Fuzzy Systems and Artificial Intelligence, Honorary Editor.
• Journal of Artificial Neural Networks, Editorial Board.
• Journal of Fuzzy Systems and Artificial Intelligence, Honorary Editor.
• International Journal of Neural, Parallel and Scientific Computations, Editorial Board.
• Journal of Intelligent and Fuzzy Systems, Editorial Advisory Board.
• International Journal of Uncertainty, Fuzziness and Knowledge-Based Systems, Editorial Board.
• Computers and Electrical Engineering, Editorial Advisory Board.
• Theory and Decision Library, Editorial Board.
• BUSEFAL, Honorary Correspondent.
• AI Expert, Advisory Board.
• Theoretical Studies on Vagueness, Uncertainty and Fuzzy Logic, Honorary General Editor.
• Multiple-Valued Logic - An International Journal, Editorial Board.
• Mathware & Soft Computing, Editorial Board.
• Computer Society Press, Editorial Board.
• Soft Computing, Co-Editor in Chief.

Advisory committees

• Advisory Board, Fuzzy Initiative, North Rhine-Westfalia, Germany.
• Advisory Board, Fuzzy Logic Research Center, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas.
• Advisory Committee, Center for Education and Research in Fuzzy Systems and Artificial Intelligence, Iasi, Romania.
• Board of Governors, INNS (International Neural Networks Society).
• Honorary Advisory Board, Program for International Cooperation in Mathematics and its Applications.
• Honorary President, Biomedical Fuzzy Systems Association of Japan.
• Board of Directors, NAFIPS (North American Fuzzy Information Processing Society).
• Senior Advisory Board, International Institute for General Systems Studies.
• Honorary President, Spanish Association for Fuzzy Logic and Technologies (FLAT).
• International Steering Commitee, Hebrew School of Engineering.
• Advisory Board, National Center for Science Information Systems, Tokyo, Japan.

Awards, fellowships and honors

• Prizes
  • Honda Prize, Honda Foundation, 1989.
  • Kampe de Feriet Prize, 1992.
  • Grigore Moisil Prize for Fundamental Researches, Romanian Society for Fuzzy Systems, 1993.
  • Okawa Prize, Okawa Foundation, 1996.
• Medals
  • IEEE Education Medal, 1973.
  • Eringen Medal, Society of Engineering Science, 1975.
  • IEEE Centennial Medal, 1984.
  • IEEE Richard W. Hamming Medal, 1992.
  • Rufus Oldenburger Medal, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 1993.
  • IEEE Medal of Honor, 1995.
  • Bolzano Medal, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 1997.
  • Edward Feigenbaum Medal, International Society for Intelligent Systems, 1998.
• Awards
  • Congress Award, International Congress on Applied Systems Research and Cybernetics, Acapulco, 1980.
  • Outstanding Paper Award, International Symposium on Multiple-Valued Logic, Winnipeg, 1984.
  • Premier Best Paper Award, 2nd Int'l Conference on Fuzzy Theory and Technology, Duke University, Durham, NC, 1993.
  • J.P. Wohl Career Acheivement Award of the IEEE Systems, Science and Cybernetics Society, 1997.
  • Richard E. Bellman Control Heritage Award, American Council on Automatic Control, 1998.
  • Information Science Award, Association for Intelligent Machinery, 1998. Scientific Contribution Memorial Award, Japanese Society of Fuzzy Theory (SOFT), 1999.
  • Fellowships, memberships and lectureships
  • NSF Senior Postdoctoral Fellow, 1956-57 and 1962-63.
  • Fellow, IEEE, 1958.
  • Guggenheim Foundation Fellow, 1968.
  • Member, National Academy of Engineering, 1973.
  • Fellow, AAAS, 1980.
  • Fellow, World Council on Cybernetics, 1981.
  • Fellow, AAAI, 1991.
  • Foreign Member, Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, Section of Computer Sciences and
  • Cybernetics, 1992.
  • Honorary Member, Austrian Society for Cybernetic Studies, 1992.
  • Fellow, Association for Computing Machinery, 1994.
  • Member, Berkeley Fellows, 1999.
• Honorary doctorates
  • Doctorate Honoris Causa, Paul-Sabatier University, Toulouse, France, 1986.
  • Doctorate Honoris Causa, State University of New York, Biushamton, NY, 1989.
  • Doctorate Honoris Causa, University of Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany, 1993.
  • Doctorate Honoris Causa, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain, 1995.
  • Doctorate Honoris Causa, University of Granada, Granada, Spain, 1996.
  • Doctorate Honoris Causa, Lakehead University, Canada, 1997.
  • Doctorate Honoris Causa, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, 1997.
  • Doctorate Honoris Causa, Baku State University, Baku, Azerbaijan, 1997.
  • Doctorate Honoris Causa, Silesian Technical University, Gliwice, Poland, 1998.
  • Doctorate Honoris Causa, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic, 1998.
  • Doctorate Honoris Causa, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, 1998.
• Miscellaneous
  • Certificate of appreciation, IEEE Computer Society, 1988.
  • Berkeley Citation, University of California, Berkeley, California, 1991.
  • Certificate of Commendation for AI Special Contribution, International Foundation for
  • Artificial Intelligence, 1992.
  • Distinguished Lecturer, ASME, 1996-
  • Lee Kuan Yew Distinguished Visitor, Singapore, 1997.
  • Gulbenkian Foundation Visiting Professor, Lisbon, Portugal, 1997.
  • Distinguished Lecturer, IEEE Computer Society, 1998-

Achievements and principal contributions

Lotfi Zadeh's first important work was his doctoral dissertation on the frequency analysis of time-varying networks, which was published in the Proceedings of the IRE in 1949. In this work, he introduced the concept of a time-varying transfer function-a concept which in the intervening years has found significant applications in the analysis of linear time-varying systems and has gained him his first international recognition. In 1950, in a joint paper with John R. Ragazzini which appeared in the Journal of Applied Physics, he described an important generalization of Wiener's theory of prediction. This work has found numerous applications in the design of finite-memory filters and predictors and is widely regarded as a classic in its field.

In 1952, Lotfi Zadeh, again in cooperation with John R. Ragazzini, has pioneered in the development of the z-transform approach to the analysis of sampled-data systems. This approach has become a standard method for the analysis of such systems and is widely used in the design of control systems and digital filters.

In 1953, he developed a novel approach to the design of nonlinear filters and constructed a hierarchy of nonlinear systems based on the Volterra-Wiener representation. This approach has provided a basis for the design of optimal nonlinear processors for the detection of signals in noise.

In 1963, Lotfi Zadeh co-authored with Charles Desoer their classic text on the state-space theory of linear systems. This book is widely regarded as a landmark in the development of the state-space approach and its application to control and systems analysis. The state-space approach is now the standard tool in optimal control and is widely used in the analysis of a variety of systems ranging from industrial robots to space guidance control.

Prior to the publication of his seminal paper on fuzzy sets in 1965, Lotfi Zadeh was recognized both nationally and internationally as one of the leading contributors to the development of system theory and its applications. His paper on fuzzy sets marked the beginning of a new direction; by introducing the concept of a fuzzy set, that is, a class with unsharp boundaries, he provided a basis for a qualitative approach to the analysis of complex systems in which linguistic rather than numerical variables are employed to describe system behavior and performance. In this way, a much better understanding of how to deal with uncertainty may be achieved, and better models of human reasoning may be constructed. Although his unorthodox ideas were initially met with some skepticism, they have gained wide acceptance in recent years and have found numerous applications in fields ranging from pattern analysis and system design to damage assessment and industrial process control.

Subsequent to the publication of his 1965 paper, Lotfi Zadeh has made a number of basic contributions to the theory of fuzzy sets and its applications, particularly noteworthy of which are the following:

• In the paper entitled, Probability Measures of Fuzzy Events (1968), he introduced the concept of the probability measure of a fuzzy event which later led to the concepts of cardinality and fuzzy quantification.
• In a joint paper with R. E. Bellman entitled, Decision-Making in a Fuzzy Environment (1970), he laid the foundation for decision analysis in the presence of fuzzy goals and constraints. This work formed the basis for a number of papers by other investigators on problems relating to decision analysis under uncertainty.
• In a seminal paper entitled, Outline of a New Approach to the Analysis of Complex Systems and Decision Processes (1973), be introduced the concept of a linguistic variable and suggested its applications to knowledge-based systems and intelligent control. This paper, together with an earlier note entitled A Rationale for Fuzzy Control (1972), laid a foundation for the technology of fuzzy logic control--a technology which in the years ahead may have a wide-ranging impact on the design of intelligent control systems.
• In a paper entitled, Fuzzy Sets as a Basis for a Theory of Possibility (1978), he introduced the concept of possibility and developed a theory which is likely to become an essential tool for dealing with lexical imprecision and the management of uncertainty in knowledge-based systems. In a paper entitled, PRUF-A Meaning-Representation Language for Natural Languages (1978), he developed a novel system based on the theory of possibility for representing the meaning of propositions in a natural language.
• In a paper entitled, A Computational Approach to Fuzzy Quantifiers in Natural Languages (1983), he developed a method for dealing with fuzzy quantifiers which later led to a theory of commonsense knowledge.
• In a paper entitled, The Role of Fuzzy Logic in the Management of Uncertainty in Expert Systems (1983), he described a method of applying fuzzy logic to the representation of imprecise information and formulated a number of basic inference rules governing the combination of evidence in expert systems.
• In a paper entitled, Syllogistic Reasoning in Fuzzy Logic and its Application to Usuality and Reasoning with Dispositions (1985), he developed a theory of fuzzy syllogistic reasoning and introduced the basic concepts of usuality and dispositionality.
• In a paper entitled, Outline of a Computational Approach to Meaning and Knowledge Representation Based on a Concept of a Generalized Assignment Statement (1986), he introduced the concept of a generalized constraint -- a concept which subsequently played a key role in the development of the computational theory of perceptions.
• In a paper entitled, Test-Score Semantics as a Basis for a Computational Approach to the Representation of Meaning (1986), he described a novel approach to the representation of meaning in natural languages. A key idea in this approach involves the representation of the meaning of a proposition as a constraint on a variable. In this way, the problem of inference is reduced to the solution of a nonlinear program.
• In a paper entitled, A Computational Theory of Dispositions (1987), he developed a theory of dispositions which provides a realistic model for commonsense reasoning and is likely to become a widely used tool for the management of uncertainty in knowledge-based systems and the design of intelligent controllers for industrial use.
• In a paper entitled, Knowledge Representation in Fuzzy Logic, (1989), he described a fuzzy- logic-based approach to the representation of imprecise and commonsense knowledge. This work led to the use of FA-Prolog as a meaning representation language for natural languages.
• In a paper entitled, Fuzzy Logic and the Calculus of If-Then Rules (1991) and subsequent papers, he initiated the development of the calculii of fuzzy rules, fuzzy graphs and fuzzy probabilities. These calculii represent the beginning of a new direction in fuzzy logic and its applications.
• In a paper entitiled, Fuzzy Logic = Computing with Words (1996), he described a novel interpretation of fuzzy logic which leads to the concept of compuing with words. In coming years, computing with words is likely to evolve into an important methodology with wide- ranging applications. In a paper entitled, Fuzzy Logic and the Calculi of Fuzzy Rules and Fuzzy Graphs (1997), he described a general theory of fuzzy rules and fuzzy graphs in the context of fuzzy logic, and related this theory to the concept of fuzzy information granulation.
• In a paper entitled, Toward a Theory of Fuzzy Information Granulation and its Centrality in Human Reasoning and Fuzzy Logic (1997), he initiated a new approach to fuzzy logic which links fuzzy logic to granular computing. The theory described in this paper is likely to have a major impact on fuzzy logic and its applications.
• In a paper entitled, From Computing with Numbers to Computing with Words -- From Manipulation of Measurements to Manipulation of Perceptions (1999), he initiated a computational theory of perceptions based on computing with words. This new theory may well become one of his most important contributions, with wide-ranging applications in many fields of science and engineering.

Lotfi Zadeh became Professor Emeritus in 1991 but remained active in teaching, research and professional service. Among his major professional contributions since his retirement has been the initiation of the Berkeley Initiative in Soft Computing (BISC). BISC has over five hundred members and over one hundred institutional affiliates. Currently, Lotfi Zadeh is serving as a Professor in the Graduate School, UC Berkeley, and Director of BISC.

The concept of soft computing -- which was introduced by Lotfi Zadeh in 1991 -- serves to highlight the emergence of computing methodologies in which the accent is on exploiting the tolerance for imprecision and uncertainty to achieve tractability, robustness and low solution cost. At this juncture, the principal constituents of soft computing are fuzzy logic, neurocomputing, evolutionary computing and probabilistic computing, with the later subsuming belief networks, chaotic systems and parts of learning theory. What is particularly important about soft computing is that it facilitates the use of fuzzy logic, neurocomputing, evolutionary computing and probabilistic computing in combination, leading to the concept of hybrid intelligent systems. Such systems are rapidly growing in importance and visibility.

Currently, Lotfi Zadeh's work is focused on the development of the methodology of computing with words and the computational theory of perceptions. The computational theory of perceptions may be viewed as a new direction in fuzzy logic. Summary of Principal Contributions Development of a frequency-domain based theory of time-varying networks, 1949. Extension of Wiener's theory of prediction, with J.R. Ragazzini, 1950.

Summary of principal contributions

• Development of a frequency-domain based theory of time-varying networks, 1949.
• Extension of Wiener's theory of prediction, with J.R. Ragazzini, 1950.
• Development of the z-transform approach, with J.R. Ragazzini, 1952.
• Development of a theory of nonlinear filters, 1953.
• Formulation of the problem of system identification, 1956.
• Initiation of the state-space approach to the analysis of linear systems, with C.A. Desoer, 1963.
• Initiation of the theory of fuzzy sets, 1965.
• Development of a theory of decision-making in a fuzzy environment, with R.E. Bellman, 1970.
• Introduction of the concepts of a linguistic variable and fuzzy if-then rules, 1973. This work laid the foundation for fuzzy logic control and most of the current applications of fuzzy logic.
• Development of possibility theory, 1978.
• Development of PRUF - a meaning representation language for natural languages, 1978.
• Development of a theory of approximate reasoning, 1979.
• Development of a theory of ususality and commonsense reasoning, 1985.
• Development of test-score semantics for natural languages, 1986.
• Development of the concept of a generalized constraint, 1986.
• Development of dispositional logic, 1988.
• Initiation of the calculii of fuzzy rules, fuzzy graphs and fuzzy probabilities, 1991.
• Development of soft computing, 1991.
• Development of Computing with Words, 1996.
• Development of Theory of Fuzzy Information Granulation, 1997.
• Development of a Computational Theory of Perceptions, 1998.

Primary publication of Lotfi A. Zadeh

• Frequency analysis of variable networks, Proc. IRE 3a8, 291-299, 1950.
• An extension of Wiener's theory of prediction, (with J. R. Ragazzini), J. Appl. Phys. 21, 645- 655, 1950.
• The analysis of sampled-data systems, (with J. R. Ragazzini), Applications and Industry (AIEE) 1, 224-234, 1952.
• A contribution to the theory of nonlinear systems, J. Franklin Institute 255, 387-408, 1953.
• Linear System Theory-The State Space Approach, (co-authored with C. A. Desoer). New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1963.
• Fuzzy sets, Inf. Control 8, 338-353, 1965.
• Probability measures of fuzzy events, Jour. Math. Analysis and Appl. 23, 421-427, 1968.
• Decision-making in a fuzzy environment, (with R. E. Bellman), Management Science 17, B- 141-B-164, 1970.
• Fuzzy languages and their relation to human and machine intelligence, Proc. of Intl. Conf. on
• Man and Computer, Bordeaux, France, 130-165, 1972. Outline of a new approach to the analysis of complex systems and decision processes, IEEE
• Trans. on Systems, Man and Cybernetics SMC-3, 28-44, 1973.
• The concept of a linguistic variable and its application to approximate reasoning, Part I: Inf. Sci. 8, 199-249, 1975; Part II: Inf. Sci. 8, 301-357, 1975; Part III: Inf. Sci. 9, 43-80, 1975.
• Local and fuzzy logics, (with R.E. Bellman), ERL Memorandum M-584, 1976. Also in Modern Uses of Multiple-Valued Logic, J.M. Dunn and G. Epstein (eds.), 103-165. Dordrecht: D. Reidel, 1977.
• A fuzzy-algorithmic approach to the definition of complex or imprecise concepts, Int. Jour. Man-Machine Studies 8, 249-291, 1976.
• Fuzzy sets as a basis for a theory of possibility, Fuzzy Sets and Systems 1, 3-28, 1978.
• PRUF-a meaning representation language for natural languages, Int. J. Man-Machine Studies 10, 395-460, 1978.
• Fuzzy sets and information granularity, Advances in Fuzzy Set Theory and Applications, M. Gupta, R. Ragade and R. Yager (eds.), 3-18. Amsterdam: North-Holland Publishing Co., 1979.
• A theory of approximate reasoning, Machine Intelligence 9, J. Hayes, D. Michie, and L. I Mikulich (eds.), 149-194. New York: Halstead Press, 1979.
• A computational approach to fuzzy quantifiers in natural languages, Computers and Mathematics 9, 149-184, 1983. Abridged version in the Proc. of the Fourth Conference of the Canadian Conference for Computational Studies of Intelligence, Saskatoon, 116-120, 1982.
• The role of fuzzy logic in the management of uncertainty in expert systems, Fuzzy Sets and Systems 11, 199-227, 1983.
• A theory of commonsense knowledge, Aspects of Vagueness, H.J. Skala, S. Termini and E. Trillas (eds.), 257-296. Dordrecht: Reidel, 1984.
• Fuzzy probabilities, Information Processing and Management 19, 148-153, 1984.
• Syllogistic reasoning in fuzzy logic and its application to usuality and reasoning with dispositions, IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man and Cybernetics, SMC-15, 754-763, 1985.
• Outline of a computational approach to meaning and knowledge representation based on a concept of a generalized assignment statement, Proceedings of the International Seminar on Artificial Intelligence and Man-Machine Systems, M. Thoma and A. Wyner (eds.), 198-211. Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag, 1986.
• Test-score semantics as a basis for a computational approach to the representation of meaning, Literary and Linguistic Computing 1, 24-35, 1986.
• A computational theory of dispositions, International Journal of Intelligent Systems 2, 39-63, 1987.
• Knowledge representation in fuzzy logic, IEEE Trans. on Knowledge and Data Engineering 1, 89-100, 1989.
• Fuzzy Logic and the Calculus of Fuzzy If-Then Rules, Proceedings of SYNAPSE `91, Tokyo, Japan, 1991.
• Uncertainty in Knowledge Bases, Bouchon-Meunier, R.R. Yager and L.A. Zadeh (Eds.), Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1991.
• An Introduction to Fuzzy Logic Applications in Intelligent Systems, R.R. Yager and L.A. Zadeh (Eds.), Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1991.
• Fuzzy Logic and the Calculus of Fuzzy If-Then Rules, OMRON Technics, Vol. 31, No. 4, 316- 320, 1991.
• The Calculus of Fuzzy If-Then Rules, AI Expert, Vol. 7, No. 3, 23-27, March 1992.
• Fuzzy Logic for the Management of Uncertainty, L.A. Zadeh and J. Kacprzyk (Eds.), John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1992.
• Fuzzy Logic, Neural Networks and Soft Computing, Communications of the ACM, 37(3):77-84, 1994.
• The Role of Fuzzy Logic in Modeling, Identification and Control, Modeling Identification and Control, 15(3):191-203, 1994.
• Why the Success of Fuzzy Logic is not Paradoxical, IEEE Expert, 9(4):43-45, 1994. Soft Computing and Fuzzy Logic, IEEE Software, 11(1-6):48-56, 1994.
• Probability Theory and Fuzzy Logic are Complementary rather than Competitive, Technometrics, 37, 271-276,1995.
• Fuzzy Logic = Computing with Words, IEEE Transactions on Fuzzy Systems, 2, 103-111, 1996.
• Fuzzy Logic and the Calculi of Fuzzy Rules and Fuzzy Graphs, International Journal of Multiple-Valued Logic, 1, 1-39, 1996
• From Computing with Numbers to Computing with Words -- From Manipulation of Measurements to Manipulation of Perceptions, IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems, 45, 105-119, 1999.

Statistics on the impact of fuzzy logic

A measure of the wide-ranging impact of Lotfi Zadeh's work on fuzzy logic is the number of papers in the literature which contain the word "fuzzy" in title. The data drawn from the INSPEC and Mathematical Reviews databases are summarized below. The numbers speak for themselves.

STATISTICS
numbers of cited papers with "fuzzy" and "fuzzy control" in title in INSPEC and Math Reviews databases (data for 1997 and 1998 are not complete)
INSPEC fuzzy fuzzy control 1981-84 : 643 : 46
1985-88 : 1,154 : 97
1989-92 : 3,101 : 575
1993-96 : 10,733 : 2,279
total : 15,631 : 2,997
Math Reviews: fuzzy
1981-84 : 908
1985-88 : 1,146
1989-92 : 1,491
total : 5,660