Scientific computing is a fast growing and fast changing area whose applications to various branches of science, engineering, medicine, economics (and others) are increasing in number and relevance every day. There are two main reasons (among others) that make scientific computing change so rapidly. One is the increasing number of different research areas beginning to make use of numerical simulation: from nanotechnology to genomics, from computer aided diagnosis and operations in medical applications (which involve often com plete simulations of parts of the human body) to economics and...