Editing Frederic Vester

{{short description|German biochemist (1925–2003)}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2024}}
'''Frederic Vester''' (November 23, 1925 – November 2, 2003) was a German [[biochemist]], and an expert in the field of [[ecology]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=1997 |title=Vester Frederic |url=http://www.saarland-biografien.de/frontend/php/ergebnis_detail.php?id=240 |access-date=2024-02-04 |website=Saarland Biografien}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Küppers |first=E. W. Udo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wQjfEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA87 |title=A Transdisciplinary Introduction to the World of Cybernetics: Basics, Models, Theories and Practical Examples |date=2023-10-24 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=978-3-658-42117-5 |pages=87}}</ref>

== Biography ==
Vester was born in [[Saarbrücken]], and studied [[chemistry]] at the universities of [[University of Mainz|Mainz]], [[University of Paris|Paris]] and [[University of Hamburg|Hamburg]]. From 1955 to 1957, he was postdoctoral fellow at [[Yale University]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Jones |first=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b_aEDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA92 |title=Systemic Design: Theory, Methods, and Practice |last2=Kijima |first2=Kyoichi |date=2019-01-23 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-4-431-55639-8 |pages=92}}</ref> and [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]]. From 1957 to 1966 he worked at [[Saarland University]], [[Saarbrücken]], and from 1969 he worked in [[Munich]], first at the [[Max Planck Institute]]. In 1970 he founded the private Munich-based ''Frederic Vester Studiengruppe für Biologie und Umwelt GmbH'' ("Frederic Vester Study Group for Biology and Environment, Ltd.), renamed ''Frederic Vester GmbH'' ("Frederic Vester, Ltd.") after his death.

From 1982 to 1989 he was a [[professor]] at the [[Bundeswehr University Munich]], and from 1989 to 1991 he was Professor for [[Applied economics|Applied Economics]] at the [[University of St. Gallen|Hochschule St. Gallen]], [[Switzerland]]. Vester's ideas influenced the formation of the [[environmental movement]] and the [[Bündnis 90/Die Grünen|Green Party]] in Germany. He was a member of the [[Club of Rome]]. He was married to Anne Vester. The couple had three children and six grandchildren. He died in Munich.

== Work ==
=== Networked thinking ===
Vester was known as pioneer of networked thinking, a combination of [[cybernetics|cybernetic]] and [[system]]ic ideas and [[complexity]].<ref name=":0" /> Central ideas of network thinking include viewing a system as a network of interrelated effects, leading to [[emergence|emergent]] behavior of the system as a whole. These networks can be described by using protocols, mathematical networks, computer software, so that even someone with the most basic understanding of networks will see relations, including positive and negative [[feedback loop]]s. [[Simulation]]s of systemic networks can help to decide the long-term effects of [[singular measure]]s.

=== ''Sensitivity Model'' ===
Vester's ''Sensitivity Model'' combines these ideas, and has been used since the 1980s in studies by [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]], [[UNESCO]] and other organizations.

== Publications ==
Most of Vesters books were published in German as well as in other languages, though seldom in English. A list of his works includes:
* 1976, ''Ballungsgebiete in der Krise'' (Urban Systems in Crisis)
* 1979, ''Das Überlebensprogramm'' (Plan for Survival)
* 1982, ''Das kybernetische Zeitalter'' (The Cybernetic Age)
* 1985, ''Ein Baum ist mehr als ein Baum'' (A Tree is More than a Tree)
* 1990, ''Leitmotiv vernetztes Denken'' (Key Themes of Networked Thinking)
* 1991, ''Ausfahrt Zukunft: Strategien für den Verkehr von morgen'' (Gateway Future: Strategies for the Transportation of Tomorrow)
* 1999, ''Crashtest Mobilität'' (Crash Test Mobility)
* 2002, ''Aufmerksamkeit im Unterricht'' (Attentiveness in the Classroom)
* 2002, ''Neuland des Denkens'' (Uncharted Territory of Thought)
* 2002, ''Denken, Lernen, Vergessen'' (Thinking, Learning, Forgetting)
* 2002, ''Phänomen Stress'' (Phenomenon Stress)
* 2002, ''Unsere Welt - ein vernetztes System'' (Our World - A Networked System)
* 2007, ''The Art of interconnected Thinking. Ideas and Tools for Tackling Complexity'' (MCB) {{ISBN|3-939314-05-6}}

Vester is also the author of the software tool ''Sensitivity model'' and of several cybernetic games:

* 1997 ''Ecopolicy – das kybernetische Strategiespiel'' (Ecopolicy - The Cybernetic Strategy Game)
* 1980/1996 ''Ökolopoly. Ein kybernetisches Umweltspiel'' (Ecopoly - A Cybernetic Environment Game)

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
* {{DNB portal|119009943|TYP=}}
*[http://www.frederic-vester.de/eng/ Professional Biography of Dr. Vester] (English)
*[http://www.saarland-biografien.de/Vester-Frederic Frederic Vester in the ''Saarländischen Biografien''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719081637/http://www.saarland-biografien.de/Vester-Frederic |date=2011-07-19 }} (German)

{{Cybernetics}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vester, Frederic}}
[[Category:1925 births]]
[[Category:2003 deaths]]
[[Category:Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz alumni]]
[[Category:University of Paris alumni]]
[[Category:Cyberneticists]]
[[Category:German biochemists]]
[[Category:People from Saarbrücken]]
[[Category:Systems biologists]]
[[Category:Academic staff of Bundeswehr University Munich]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of St. Gallen]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Saarland Order of Merit]]
[[Category:German expatriates in France]]
[[Category:German expatriates in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:German expatriates in the United States]]
[[Category:University of Hamburg alumni]]