The theory of operators stands at the intersection of the frontiers of modern analysis and its classical counterparts; of algebra and quantum mechanics; of spectral theory and partial differential equations; of the modern global approach to topology and geometry; of representation theory and harmonic analysis; and of dynamical systems and mathematical physics. The present collection of papers represents contributions to a conference, and they have been carefully selected with a view to bridging different but related areas of mathematics which have only recently displayed an unexpected network...