Mathematics is playing an ever more important role in the physical and biological sciences, provoking a blurring of boundaries between scienti?c disciplines and a resurgence of interest in the modern as well as the classical techniques of applied mathematics. This renewal of interest, both in research and teaching, has led to the establishment of the series Texts in Applied Mathematics (TAM). The development of new courses is a natural consequence of a high level of excitement on the research frontier as newer techniques, such as numerical and s- bolic computer systems, dynamical systems, and...