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This is the 28th volume of Memorial Tributes compiled by the National Academy of Engineering as a personal remembrance of the lives and outstanding achievements of its members and international members. These volumes are intended to stand as an enduring record of the many contributions of engineers and engineering to the benefit of humankind. In most cases, the authors of the tributes are contemporaries or colleagues who had personal knowledge of the interests and the engineering accomplishments of the deceased. Through its members and international members, the Academy...
This is the 28th volume of Memorial Tributes compiled by the National Academy of Engineering as a personal remembrance of the lives and outstanding achievements of its members and international members. These volumes are intended to stand as an enduring record of the many contributions of engineers and engineering to the benefit of humankind. In most cases, the authors of the tributes are contemporaries or colleagues who had personal knowledge of the interests and the engineering accomplishments of the deceased. Through its members and international members, the Academy carries out the responsibilities for which it was established in 1964.
Under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering was formed as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. Members are elected on the basis of significant contributions to engineering theory and practice and to the literature of engineering or on the basis of demonstrated unusual accomplishments in the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology. The National Academies share a responsibility to advise the federal government on matters of science and technology. The expertise and credibility that the National Academy of Engineering brings to that task stem directly from the abilities, interests, and achievements of our members and international members, our colleagues and friends, whose special gifts we remember in this book.
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BY YONG SHI SUBMITTED BY THE NAE HOME SECRETARY
THOMAS LAURIE SAATY (July 18, 1926-Aug. 14, 2017) was a highly respected scholar, mentor, and pioneer in decision-making methodologies. It is a great honor to pay tribute to his remarkable contributions, both as an academic and as an influential figure in my own career.
I have known Saaty for about 34 years. Even before becoming aware of him personally, I, as a student in China, was familiar with his work on the parametric objective function1 and a scaling method for priorities in hierarchical structures2 — now commonly known as the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). His pioneering AHP research has had a significant impact on me and many others in China, and indeed, on the entire world. As of now, according to the Web of Science, there are more than 50,000 AHP-related papers published in Chinese, including over 380 doctoral dissertations and 25,500 master’s theses.
Since beginning my doctoral studies in the United States, I have had the pleasure of meeting several times with Saaty and his wife, Rozann, starting with our first encounter at the Canadian Operational Research Society Annual Conference in 1990 in Ottawa. I have always been inspired by Saaty’s passionate discussions about his academic work and his unwavering support for young scholars like myself, offering thoughtful suggestions and guidance. Knowing Saaty has been an unforgettable experience; he was not only a role model in my academic and professional life but also a steadfast supporter of my career.
When I decided to establish the International Journal of Information Technology and Decision Making (ITDM) in 2001, Saaty was among the first to join its advisory committee. Later, several of his papers — on both AHP and the analytic network process — were published in the journal. One of these papers was selected by readers to receive the ITDM Outstanding Paper Award, named after Saaty’s friend, Nobel Prize and Turing Award winner Herbert Simon (NAS). In addition to this honor, Saaty received numerous other international awards, including the Gold Medal from the International Society on Multiple Criteria Decision Making (2000), the International Quality Function Deployment Akao Prize from Japan (2007), and the INFORMS Impact Prize (2008). In 2014, he also became an advisory member for the international journal Annals of Data Science.
I have always valued my conversations with Saaty. In January 2013, he invited me to visit him at the University of Pittsburgh, where we had extensive discussions about the value of life. We also spoke about his book Creative Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision Making,3 first published in 2001 and reprinted three times. He told me that although his AHP text had received worldwide recognition, Creative Thinking should be regarded as his most significant contribution. He asked me to translate it into Chinese, a task I eagerly accepted. I later invited my former student, Li Xingsen, to co-author the translation. After two years of effort, the Chinese edition4 was published in 2016 and became an instant bestseller in the Chinese academic community.
Also in 2016, Saaty and his wife visited the State Council of the People’s Republic of China — equivalent to the U.S. President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) — where I have served as a counselor for big data. Remarkably, using an AHP analysis, Saaty demonstrated that there would be no winner in a U.S.-China trade dispute. He was a strong advocate of a cooperative U.S.-China relationship, and, as a U.S. academician, he always welcomed Chinese students and scholars to collaborate with him.
In honor of his contributions, the 12th International Conference on Information Technology and Quantitative Management, scheduled for Aug. 15-17, 2025, at Rutgers University, will present its first early-career award: the Thomas L. Saaty Award in Decision Making. It will be presented by his wife, Rozann.
Saaty is survived by Rozann; his children, John, Daniel, Michael, Emily Harker, and Linda Holker; 10 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
____________________________ 1Saaty TL, Gass S. 1954. Parametric objective function (Part 1). Journal of the Operations Research Society of America 2(3):316-19. 2Saaty TL. 1977. A scaling method for priorities in hierarchical structures. Journal of Mathematical Psychology 15:234-81. 3Saaty TL. 2001. Creative Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision Making. RWS Publications. 4Saaty TL. 2016. Creative Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision Making (in Chinese), translated by Shi Y and Li XS. China Machine Press.