The first international symposium on mathematical foundations of the finite element method was held at the University of Maryland in 1973. During the last three decades there has been great progress in the theory and practice of solving partial differential equations, and research has extended in various directions. Full-scale nonlinear problems have come within the range of nu merical simulation. The importance of mathematical modeling and analysis in science and engineering is steadily increasing. In addition, new possibili ties of analysing the reliability of computations have appeared....