Mathematics is playing an ever more important role in the physical and biological sciences, provoking a blurring of boundaries between scientific disciplines and a resurgence of interest in the modern as well as the cl- sical 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 symbolic computer systems, dynamical systems,...

Since the dawn of computing, the quest for a better understanding of Nature has been a driving force for technological development. Groundbreaking achievements by great scientists have paved the way from the abacus to the supercomputing power of today. When trying to replicate Nature in the computer's silicon test tube, there is need for precise and computable process descriptions. The scienti?c ?elds of Ma- ematics and Physics provide a powerful vehicle for such descriptions in terms of Partial Differential Equations (PDEs). Formulated as such equations, physical laws can become subject to...

When researchers gather around lunch tables, at conferences, or in bars, there are some topics that are more or less compulsory. The discussions are about the ho- less management of the university or the lab where they are working, the lack of funding for important research, politicians' inability to grasp the potential of a p- ticularly promising ?eld, and the endless series of committees that seem to produce very little progress. It is common to meet excellent researchers claiming that they have almost no time to do research because writing applications, lecturing, and - tending to...

When researchers gather around lunch tables, at conferences, or in bars, there are some topics that are more or less compulsory. The discussions are about the ho- less management of the university or the lab where they are working, the lack of funding for important research, politicians' inability to grasp the potential of a p- ticularly promising ?eld, and the endless series of committees that seem to produce very little progress. It is common to meet excellent researchers claiming that they have almost no time to do research because writing applications, lecturing, and - tending to...