Seldom does a physical system, particularly one as apparently simple as the flow of a Newtonian fluid between concentric rotating cylinders, retain the interest of scientists, applied mathematicians and engineers for very long. Yet, as this volume goes to press it has been nearly 70 years since G. I. Taylor's outstanding experimental and theoretical study of the linear stability of this flow was published, and a century since the first experiments were performed on rotating cylinder viscometers. Since then, the study of this system has progressed enormously, but new features of the flow patterns are still being uncovered. Interesting variations on the basic system abound. Connections with open flows are being made. More complex fluids are used in some experiments. The vigor of the research going on in this particular example of nonequilibrium systems was very apparent at the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on "Ordered and Turbulent Patterns in Taylor Couette Flow," held in Columbus, Ohio, USA May 22-24, 1991. A primary goal of this ARW was to bring together those interested in pattern formation in the classic Taylor Couette problem with those looking at variations on the basic system and with those interested in related systems, in order to better define the interesting areas for the future, the open questions, and the features common (and not common) to closed and open systems. This volume contains many of the contributions presented during the workshop.

The Institute for Mathematics and its Applications (IMA) devoted its 1997-1998 program to Emerging Applications of Dynamical Systems. Dynamical systems theory and related numerical algorithms provide powerful tools for studying the solution behavior of differential equations and mappings. In the past 25 years computational methods have been developed for calculating fixed points, limit cycles, and bifurcation points. A remaining challenge is to develop robust methods for calculating more complicated objects, such as higher- codimension bifurcations of fixed points, periodic orbits, and connecting orbits, as well as the calcuation of invariant manifolds. Another challenge is to extend the applicability of algorithms to the very large systems that result from discretizing partial differential equations. Even the calculation of steady states and their linear stability can be prohibitively expensive for large systems (e.g. 10_3- -10_6 equations) if attempted by simple direct methods. Several of the papers in this volume treat computational methods for low and high dimensional systems and, in some cases, their incorporation into software packages. A few papers treat fundamental theoretical problems, including smooth factorization of matrices, self -organized criticality, and unfolding of singular heteroclinic cycles. Other papers treat applications of dynamical systems computations in various scientific fields, such as biology, chemical engineering, fluid mechanics, and mechanical engineering.

This book covers a wide area of topics, from fundamental theories to industrial applications. It serves as a useful reference for all interested in computational modeling of partial differential equations pertinent primarily to aeronautical applications. The reader will find five survey articles on cartesian mesh methods, on numerical studies of turbulent boundary layers, on efficient computation of compressible flows, on the use of Riemann-solvers and on numerical procedures in complex flows.