IJAHP News and Events: Ferretti/Saaty’s recent visit to China International Journal of the Analytic Hierarchy Process 550 Vol. 8 Issue 3 2016 ISSN 1936-6744 http://dx.doi.org/10.13033/ijahp.v8i3.453 SAATY’S RECENT VISIT TO CHINA Valentina Ferretti Department of Management London School of Economics and Political Science The Journal is pleased to share some highlights about a recent research visit that Tom Saaty, the father of the AHP and ANP, made to China in October 2016. This was a long-promised trip which became a great triumphal return to the country that held the first International Symposium on the AHP in 1988. This first conference was held at Tianjin University, in Tianjin, the third largest city in China. Professor Saaty was received with honor, visiting old friends who attended the first conference as students and who have now achieved positions of prominence. This autumn, the host of Tom Saaty’s visit was Professor Yong Shi of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a longtime colleague, a friend from the Multi-Criteria Decision Making community and a member of the scientific advisory group which advises the President of China, Xi Jinping, on science and technology. Tom Saaty, wife Rozann and Professor Yong Shi of the Chinese Academy of Sciences IJAHP News and Events: Ferretti/Saaty’s recent visit to China International Journal of the Analytic Hierarchy Process 551 Vol. 8 Issue 3 2016 ISSN 1936-6744 http://dx.doi.org/10.13033/ijahp.v8i3.453 During this research visit (from October 19 to November 3), Tom Saaty gave several lectures, inspiring students as well as colleagues from several Chinese universities. We have listed the most relevant ones below:  lecture on Creativity at the Research Center on Fictitious Economy & Data Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences;  lectures and appointment as Adjunct Professor from October 2016 to September 2018 at the School of Economics and Management, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences;  appointment as Guest Professor of College of Management and Economics of Tianjin University (2016-2021) in recognition of this university being the location of the first ISAHP meeting in 1988;  Central University of Finance and Economics;  North China University of Technology;  lecture and appointment of a medal of honor at the Beijing Jiaotong University;  lecture and appointment as Part-time Professor for 2016 at the University of Science and Technology, Beijing. Top left: Tom Saaty giving the solution to orienting four cubes so all four colors appear on each side during his creativity lecture at the Chinese Academy of Science. Top right: Tom Saaty lecturing in Beijing. Bottom: students paying close attention during his lecture Students attending Chinese universities study AHP as part of the core curriculum in Management studies and were enthusiastic and touched by the possibility of attending Tom’s lecture. IJAHP News and Events: Ferretti/Saaty’s recent visit to China International Journal of the Analytic Hierarchy Process 552 Vol. 8 Issue 3 2016 ISSN 1936-6744 http://dx.doi.org/10.13033/ijahp.v8i3.453 Professor Jennifer Shang of the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Business offered her thoughts on why the Chinese are enthusiastic about the AHP. She said, “The culture in China makes people prefer to take a holistic approach to solve problems. Namely, they like a 360-degree view of any problem with everyone offering their opinions, with an aim of synthesizing the different views to arrive at a consensus at the end, very similar to the AHP approach”. Tom Saaty has hosted many visiting scholars from China at the University of Pittsburgh where he is a Distinguished University Professor, and these scholars gathered in Beijing to host a dinner for him. Some came from as far off as Chengdu Province and Shanghai for the Mongolian-style dinner. We all wish many other successful and inspiring research visits to Rozann and Tom together! Rozann and Tom Saaty making light with statues at Tsinghua University