"Scientific management is the way to govern the country" - Remembering Academician Wang Yingluo, the founder of my country's system management discipline

Academician Wang Yingluo (1930-2023)

On the evening of July 11, Mr. Wang Yingluo, the famous founder of my country's system management discipline and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, passed away at the age of 93.

Mr. Wang Yingluo is one of the pioneers of management engineering education and research in my country, the founder of system management discipline and an outstanding management engineering educator. He is committed to promoting and applying the theory and methods of system engineering to the field of management, and has contributed to the establishment and development of management discipline in China.

Study and develop skills, move westward to cultivate talents

In 1949, Wang Yingluo entered Jiaotong University and became one of the first batch of college students trained in New China. In 1952, he graduated from the Department of Mechanical Engineering of Jiaotong University and went to Harbin Institute of Technology for postgraduate studies, becoming the first graduate student in management trained in New China. In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, he fully learned subject knowledge and literacy, laying a solid foundation for future research.

In 1958, under the call of the Party Central Committee to "march toward science and build the Northwest", Wang Yingluo left the Huangpu River and came to the ancient city of Xi'an. From then on, Wang Yingluo's life was inseparable from management engineering education. For decades, Wang Yingluo took root in the Northwest, rebuilt the School of Management of Xi'an Jiaotong University, compiled management textbooks, and trained the first doctor of management engineering in mainland my country. He made outstanding contributions to the establishment of my country's management engineering and industrial engineering education system and the development of the discipline.

In May 2020, a symposium was held to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Academician Wang Yingluo's teaching and his 90th birthday. The picture shows Academician Wang Yingluo speaking at the meeting.

"I am one of the first batch of college students trained in New China, and I deeply love my motherland. I am extremely pleased to be able to train more talents for the country and watch them play a role in their respective fields!" said Academician Wang Yingluo.

Use what you have learned to benefit the world and the people, and use what you know to innovate in scientific research

Academician Wang Yingluo is one of the founders of China's management science and engineering field. He was the first in the country to apply the theories and methods of systems engineering, and participated in the research on the development strategy of the Shanxi Energy and Heavy Chemical Industry Base; he completed the research on the comprehensive economic evaluation and decision support system of the Three Gorges Project, which is also considered to be a major achievement in the application of systems engineering in my country in the 1980s.

Wang Yingluo is practical and realistic. He always pays attention to the forefront of discipline development. In combination with major social needs, he innovatively applies theories and methods such as system engineering, management engineering, and industrial engineering to various fields of management disciplines, promoting the vigorous development of management disciplines. In addition to teaching and scientific research, he also provides management and system science support for major domestic engineering projects based on major national needs and changes in the social and economic environment. His research results have also been widely adopted and implemented by the business community and the government.

In April 2005, academicians Wang Yingluo (first from left), Yin Ruiyu and He Jishan visited the Three Gorges Dam.

"In my decades of hard work, I have deeply realized that scientific management is the way to govern a country." This is Wang Yingluo's motto as an academician. Management science is a technical job that requires practice. Wang Yingluo has never bowed to the pile of old papers, but has devoted himself to solving major decisions and problems in reality.

An old horse is still in the stable, keeping pace with the times

As time entered the 21st century, Academician Wang Yingluo, who was over 70 years old, still insisted on working in the office. In the new era, Wang Yingluo focused on the development of China's manufacturing and high-tech industries under the new competitive landscape, put forward many important views, and achieved a series of scientific research results. At the same time, he keenly noticed the environmental pollution problems in the development of the manufacturing industry, proposed a series of management models such as clean production, green manufacturing and green supply chain management, and advocated the sustainable development of the manufacturing industry. Since 2010, Academician Wang Yingluo has studied the combination of new generation information and modern management, and introduced big data technology into social and economic management. He proposed the theory and method of big data management and application, and used data-driven management innovation to help solve major problems in social and economic management.

Academician Wang Yingluo in his office in 2013

Regarding Wang Yingluo's contributions and attitude towards academic research, Xu Kuangdi, then president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, sent a congratulatory message when Wang Yingluo was 80 years old: "Thank you for your important contributions to the development of my country's engineering and technology and national construction. Your rigorous and realistic scientific attitude, tireless learning spirit, and selfless dedication and noble character are an example for my country's engineering and technology circles to learn from." He also said to his wife Zhang Xianru: "I am 85 years old and can still go to work. Don't you feel happy?" At his octogenarian, he regards work as a fun thing.

A lifetime of learning, a life of striving for learning, the man is gone, but his spirit lives on.

Review expert: Luo Xingbo, Modern Scientist Research Center, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences

Producer: Zhan Zhao

Compiled by: Huang Zhongchen and Jiao Ziyuan

Source: Guangming Daily, Xinhuanet, Chinese Academy of Engineering Academician Hall, Xi'an Jiaotong University WeChat Official Account

Co-produced by: China Association for Science and Technology Department of Science Popularization, Guangming Online