A Short CV of Professor Nagib Callaos

Professor Nagib Callaos contributed in his PhD dissertation with the mathematical solution of the Condorcet Paradox, which was an unsolved problem for about 165 years by then (1976). Doing so, he showed the internal inconsistencies of the axioms used by Kenneth Arrows (Nobel Prize) in his mathematical proof that there was no solution to this Paradox (Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem). When asked by one of the members of the Dissertation Committee why he thinks that he was able to do it while so many mathematicians were not able to find the solution, his answer was “I used mathematics but I am not a mathematician”. I used Mathematical Optimization (Operations Research) thanks to the mathematicians, but I did not follow the axiomatic method. I used Singer-Churchamn Pragmatic-teleological notion of truth, in which Operations Research and The Systems Approach are based.

Since that moment, he oriented his research, teaching and academic activities being alerted and alerting about not confusing ends with means. Since then, he has used the means-end logic to support his academic activities and any other kinds of logic (inductive and/or deductive) as means to achieve the end-means logic in his research, consulting, information systems development and organizational design and management; as well as in his drive to relate academy and Industry/Business, different disciplines to foster interdisciplinary communication in order to potentiate Analogical Thinking which is required for Logical Thinking.

This has been his drive when he was Dean of Research of his University and what motivated him to found and preside so many organizations oriented to relate 1) Academy with Industry and decision makers, 2) different disciplines, 3) Research and Consulting, 4) Research, Education, and real life problem solving, and 5) thought and action.

Dr. Nagib Callaos, a retired professor of The University Simon Bolivar, had taught at Venezuelan Universities, for 30 years. He taught several courses in the areas of Information Systems, Operations Research, General Systems Theory and Methodology, Probability and Statistics, Software Engineering, Decision Making and Decisions Support Systems.

His academic interests have been in the areas of General Systems Methodology and its application to different kinds of systems as, for example, Information Systems Development, Educational Systems, Managerial Support Systems, Strategic Planning and Control, Group Decision Support Systems, Group Problem Solving Support Systems, Socio-Political Information Systems, e-politics, e-Democracy, etc.

The core of most of his research is based on the Mathematical Solution to the Voter Paradox (or Condorcet Paradox) mentioned above. He received a technology grant from CONICIT, the Venezuelan equivalent of the National Science Foundation, to develop software for a Group Decision Support System based on his Mathematical Solution of the Voter Paradox.

For at least 25 years, Dr. Callaos has been applying the Solution of the Voter Paradox to various problems where collective decisions are needed as it is the case of project approval by the directory of a governmental funding organization, technological strategic planning of the largest oil company in Venezuela (PDVSA) (and, until recently, one of the largest oil companies in the world), strategic planning of information systems in the largest insurance company in Venezuela, re-engineering of the Venezuelan State TV station, educational systems design, general systems design, etc.

Professor Callaos has received the highest academic award that may be conferred in Venezuela in the field of education. He received, in 1986, the Andrés Bello Order ( Orden Andrés Bello ), in its second class. Several years later he received, in 1994, The Andrés Bello Order in its first class, with an Honor Band, which is signed and conferred by the Venezuelan President.

Professor Callaos is a founding and for life member of the Venezuelan Academy of Engineering, created by presidential decree. Just 24 engineers were chosen as founders and life members, from about 150.000 engineers, by the Venezuelan Professional College of Engineering, pre-approved by the Venezuelan Ministry of Education and finally approved by the twice Venezuelan President Rafael Caldera (1968-1973; 1993-1998). A presidential decree appointed the 24 members of the mentioned academy. There could be no more than 24 members in the Academy; any new member would enter the academy just when some of the present members die. Dr. Callaos has been the youngest member of the Academy for many years.

He was granted several National and International awards (Baden-Baden, Germany; Bangkok, Thailand; Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic; Krakow, Poland, USA):

• Outstanding Scholarly Contribution Award, conferred by the Systems Research Institute (based in Canada), “in recognition of his outstanding work and Keynote Addresses presented at the International Conferences on Systems Research, Informatics and Cybernetics held in 1993 and 1994 in Baden-Baden, Germany.”
• Award conferred by the Systems Research Institute “for his contribution to the advancement of knowledge in the field, for presenting the best paper and Keynote Address at the International Symposium on Synergetics in January 1995 in Bangkok, and for having organized the best symposium of the 1995 conference held August 16-20, 1995 in Baden-Baden, Germany
• Inspirational Award conferred by the Informing Science Institute at the 4 th Annual Informing Science Conference, in Krakow , Poland , 2001, “for your inspiration that led to this Informing Science conference.”
• Professor Callaos was selected by the Executive Council of the International Institute for advanced Studies in Systems Research and Cybernetics: IIAS, based in Canada , “to serve on the International Examination Council of the IIAS, and to become Mentor and Supervisor for the International Postgraduate Program of the Institute.
• Zbigniew J. Gackowski Memorial Award granted by the Informing Science Institute “for his substantial achievements advancing the theory and practice of Informing Science.“

His name was included in several bibliographical dictionaries.

As Dean of Research and Development at the University Simon Bolivar, professor Callaos revised the evaluative criteria regarding the research activities of the university professors, distinguishing, for the first time in the university, between scientific and engineering research criteria and indicators. New forms of research evaluation were introduced by professor Callaos and, the most important, he succeeded in achieving an extraordinarily high consensus among all university departments and university professors with regards his new approach and evaluative criteria for professors' research activities. The document elaborated by professor Callaos, based on a large number of meetings that he held with all university departments, was approved unanimously by the University's board of directors, or Directive Council (the maximum authority of the University), as well as by all the University’s departments.

Professor Callaos created and was the founding President of the Research and Development Foundation of the University Simon Bolivar (Fundación de Investigación y Desarrollo de la Universidad Simón Bolivar : FUNINDES-USB). Here, again, professor Callaos achieved a high consensus in the University for its By Laws and the Directive Council of the University approved its creation unanimously. Since it was created, and up to the present, the FUNINDES-USB generated the largest revenue in the University. Professor Callaos received an award from FUNINDES-USB in its 5^th Anniversary.

Professor Callaos was the Founding CEO of The Fund for Technological Innovation (financed by the Venezuelan Government and created by presidential decree), as well as the Founding President of The Venezuelan Copyright Executive Society (Venezuelan Chapter of LES: Licensing Executive Society). FE also was the founding CEO and President of FUNDASISTEMAS, a not-for-benefit corporation, sponsored by the Venezuelan College of Engineering, which purpose was to apply the Systems Apprach and Systems Engineering in private and public corporations, especially in the areas of organizational and information systems development.

Professor Callaos was elected as Director at Large of the International Society for The Systems Sciences (ISSS), which is the oldest association in the Systems Science, previously known as the International Society for Systems Research (IFSR). He also has been nominated for the Membership of the Board of Directors of the International Institute for Advanced Studies in Systems Research and Cybernetics: IIAS, based in Canada,

A few years before retiring from the University Simón Bolívar, he launched a consulting firm where he tried to combine his academic interests with his activities as consultant, via action-research and relating research and occulting, in the areas mentioned above. Since then (1990) he is the founder and the CEO of “ Callaos y Asociados , C.A. ” a Venezuelan consulting firm (with 70 computer engineers and technicians, in its best moment) in the area of Information Systems. Lockheed Martin selected Professor Callaos consulting firm as their associate in future Venezuelan businesses. His firm has the copyright of about 50.000 software function points (approximately 2.000.000 lines of code), deployed in about 55 Venezuelan organizations many of which are among the largest Venezuelan corporations.

He has been organizing International Conferences since 1981, when he was the President of the World Conference on Systems, sponsored by the UNESCO and the WFEO: World Federation of Engineering Organizations (United Nations). This sponsorship was approved at the yearly meeting of the WFEO, with representatives of the countries that were members of the United Nations. He also organized the yearly WMSCI/ISAS conferences since 1995. He was, for several years: The President of the Venezuelan Chapter of the IEEE/Computer Society, and The President of the International Institute of Informatics and Systemics (IIIS), affiliated to the International Federation of Systems Research (IFSR).

Professor Callaos was selected by UNESCO's Information and Informatics Division as the contributor for the Region of Latina America and The Caribbean, for its “World Communication and Information 1999-2000 Report. Other 5 contributors were selected from the other 5 regions in the World, and one contributor for the “A World View” (Part three of the Report titled “Information and Communication Technologies throughout the World.”)

Professor Callaos published more than 100 papers and two books, tutored about 70 theses and co-edited about 200 books (as proceedings volumes). He is Editor in Chief, since 2003 of 1) the Journal of Systemics, Cybernetics, and Informatics: JSCI (16 volumes, including about 120 issues, up to 2018) and 2) the Spanish/Portugues version of the journal: Revista Iberoamericana de Sistemas, Cibernética y Sistemas: RISCI (15 volumes and about 30 issues).

Since very recently, he is the Founding CEO and Chair of TIDC Publishing LTD oriented to Trans- and Inter-Disciplinary Communications. More especifically TIDC Publishing would related Episteme (justified belief) and Doxa (belief, opinion) in order to support 1) education, including continuous self-education of academics, professionals and society, in general, and 2) Diffusion of Knowledge oriented, mostly, via inter-disciplinary written communication and its dissemination to Business/Indutry and Society al large.This will mostly be achieved via transdiciplinary topics, and relating a) research to practice and consulting, b) research, education and real life problem solving, c) research originality to innovation which necessarily requires marketing, finance and management; as well as intellectual interpretation of Scientific results in non technical terms that might bridge Science with Scientific Journalism, in a more adequate way. All of these means are based on reflections and reflexions which provide more solid base for opinion formation.