HFUT Pro. YANG Shanlin’s academic report at AXHU

HFUT Pro. YANG Shanlin’s academic report at AXHU

—“To be a pioneering talent in new era, aligned with the spirit of CAE memberships”

International Office, Anhui Xinhua University

Jun 9, 2023  

To carry out the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), implement the Party’s educational guideline, concentrate on the pivotal mission “To educate the students of excellence in morality and academics,” boost the Quality Education aiming for their well-rounded growth featuring “Moral, Intelligence, Wellness, Esthetic, Confidence, Diligence, Innovation and Creation, and more,” and shape a cultural accumulation of the profoundest traditions on campus, AXHU has resolutely been to create the one of the renowned high-level applied institutions of higher education within China, being in line with the evolving demands of current social and economic progress.

In the afternoon, Jun 7, 2023, Mr. YANG Shan-lin, holding the Professorship at Hefei University of Technology (HFUT), also membership of Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), delivered a scholarly report on AI-Generated Content (AIGC) and Its Scientific Fundamentals at AXHU Research Building. The attendees with AXHU included: resident Party secretary of CPC AXHU Committee DI Jian-wei; vice provost DAI Xin, some departmental administrators and academic staff members, and student representatives, etc., which was moderated by the provost ZHAO Liang-qin.

In behalf of AXHU administration, Zhao, at first, gives the distinguished guest a hearty welcome, and expounds Yang's groundbreaking contribution to the theoretical research in recent years and the relevant results out of his field works, especially in the areas of Smart Decision-making and Technology, Information System Theory and Techniques, Development Strategy Programming and System Management Theory, as well as the manageable execution regarding the sophisticated products development, manufacturing projects, corporate managements and social governance, etc.

For several decades, Pro. Yang had ever had been engaged with the academic research and professional training in the domain of Scientific Decision-making and Information Systems Technology, who was the pioneer and co-founder of HFUT management discipline, recipient of the National Famous Teachers Award and the National Labor Medal. “As a member of CAE, Yang is of enticing greatness by virtue of the lofty ideology, selfless dedication, inclusively humanistic spirit, enormous social responsibility, truth-seeking aspiration and expanding impacts on scientific discoveries around the world,” Zhao paid homage to. “So, it is time all AXHUers benefit from his public-spirited attitude and highly spiritual truths—‘To be a pioneering talent in new era, aligned with the spirit of CAE memberships’.” 

Thereupon, Yang makes a highly observant analysis from the two perspectives—the rapid evolution in AIGC and its scientific and research conditions. Since 2016, the data-driven AI-technology has underwent a considerable evolution [update]: the Generative Pre-Trained Transformer (GPT)-1 released by Google AI in 2017; GPT-2 by OpenAI in 2018; GPT-3 by OpenAI in 2019; ChatGPT (GPT-3.5) by OpenAI in 2022; and GPT-4 by OpenAI in 2023. The AIGC-based application will have a broad prospect in the sphere of education, marketing, software engineering, and in the meantime can improve the theoretical foundations of the Life Science, Medicine, Material Science, Social Science, etc. Moreover, he exhibits, via making research into Deep-learning, Cognitive Science, Decision Science, Data Science, Linguistics, Natural Language Processing, Computer Vision, Complexity Science, Brain Science, and much more, thereof, the critical effectiveness on the AI-technology evolution, but manifests that the future of AIGC is still aligned with the human-level performance and basic science & technology.

Amidst fraternal and generative atmosphere, Yang energetically reported his specific research findings to these attentive listeners at the auditorium being packed to capacity, wherein his vivid demonstration, well-informed sources, and well-judged discussion is fitfully applauded throughout its two-hour proceedings, during which all the attendees have a zero-distance experience of such personable, erudite charm of being as a scientist, an educator, or in particular an ordinary people. In the end, student representatives  present him with a big bunch of flowers, paying a tribute to his unmatched achievements and thought-provoking, well-meaning discourse in this event.

Profile:

YANG Shan-lin, membership of Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), professorship at Hefei University of Technology (HFUT), instructor of HFUT’s doctoral programs,  and widely-recognized expert in Management Science and Information System Engineering [the academic interest and specialism is in the areas of decision science and information systems technology, as well as teaching and administrative activities at the institutions of higher education], is currently named the director of HFUT Academic Board, the director of National Engineering Laboratory for Big Data Distribution and Exchange Technologies, the director of National-Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Intelligence Decision and Information System, the director of MOE’s Key Laboratory for Process Optimization and Intelligence Decision, and the director of MOE’s Key Laboratory of Humanities and Social Sciences for Data Science and Smart Social Governance.

The awards, fellowships and achievements Yang obtained include: 2 second prizes of National Science and Technology Advancement Award; 1 first prize of MOE Natural Sciences Award; 1 first prize of MOE Humanities and Social Sciences Award; 6 first prizes of provincial or ministerial-level Science and Technology Advancement Award; 3 second prizes of National Teaching Achievements Award; National Excellent Textbooks Award; more than 400 research papers published on many of international core journals or presentations at the milestone seminars & conferences at home and abroad; 5 monographs; over 50 national invention patents; National Labor Medal; Returned Overseas Scholars Achievement Awards, National Innovation and Progress Award (first session); National Famous Teachers Award (higher education); National Model Faculty Award; National Advanced Individuals Award (textbooks structuring); Outstanding Contribution Award (Fudan University School of Management); CHENG Siwei Science Award Foundation; Lifetime Achievement Award in Systems Science and Systems Engineering (Systems Engineering Society of China), etc.

Additionally, he is appointed as the chief editor for the volume “Management Science and Engineering” of Encyclopedia of China (third edition); acting director (in rotation) of Chinese Academy of Management; honorary chairman of Chinese Society of Optimization, Overall Planning and Economic Mathematics; honorary chairman of Society of Management Science and Engineering of China; and more.