The series is aimed specifically at publishing peer reviewed reviews and contributions presented at workshops and conferences. Each volume is associated with a particular conference, symposium or workshop. These events cover various topics within pure and applied mathematics and provide up-to-date coverage of new developments, methods and applications.

An invaluable summary of research work done in the period from 1978 to the present

This volume consists of seven papers related in various matters to the research work of Kostia Beidar†, a distinguished ring theorist and professor of National Ching Kung University (NCKU). Written by leading experts in these areas, the papers also emphasize important applications to other fields of mathematics. Most papers are based on talks that were presented at the memorial conference which was held in March 2005 at NCKU.

Every Abelian group can be related to an associative ring with an identity element, the ring of all its endomorphisms. Recently the theory of endomor phism rings of Abelian groups has become a rapidly developing area of algebra. On the one hand, it can be considered as a part of the theory of Abelian groups; on the other hand, the theory can be considered as a branch of the theory of endomorphism rings of modules and the representation theory of rings. There are several reasons for studying endomorphism rings of Abelian groups: first, it makes it possible to acquire additional information about Abelian groups themselves, to introduce new concepts and methods, and to find new interesting classes of groups; second, it stimulates further develop ment of the theory of modules and their endomorphism rings. The theory of endomorphism rings can also be useful for studies of the structure of additive groups of rings, E-modules, and homological properties of Abelian groups. The books of Baer [52] and Kaplansky [245] have played an important role in the early development of the theory of endomorphism rings of Abelian groups and modules. Endomorphism rings of Abelian groups are much stu died in monographs of Fuchs [170], [172], and [173]. Endomorphism rings are also studied in the works of Kurosh [287], Arnold [31], and Benabdallah [63].

It is by no means clear what comprises the "heart" or "core" of algebra, the part of algebra which every algebraist should know. Hence we feel that a book on "our heart" might be useful. We have tried to catch this heart in a collection of about 150 short sections, written by leading algebraists in these areas. These sections are organized in 9 chapters A, B, . . . , I. Of course, the selection is partly based on personal preferences, and we ask you for your understanding if some selections do not meet your taste (for unknown reasons, we only had problems in the chapter "Groups" to get enough articles in time). We hope that this book sets up a standard of what all algebraists are supposed to know in "their" chapters; interested people from other areas should be able to get a quick idea about the area. So the target group consists of anyone interested in algebra, from graduate students to established researchers, including those who want to obtain a quick overview or a better understanding of our selected topics. The prerequisites are something like the contents of standard textbooks on higher algebra. This book should also enable the reader to read the "big" Handbook (Hazewinkel 1999-) and other handbooks. In case of multiple authors, the authors are listed alphabetically; so their order has nothing to do with the amounts of their contributions.

This volume presents articles based on the talks at the International Conference on Combinatorial and Computational Algebra held at the University of Hong Kong (China). The conference was part of the Algebra Program at the Institute of Mathematical Research and the Mathematics Department at the University of Hong Kong. Topics include recent developments in the following areas: combinatorial and computational aspects of group theory, combinatorial and computational aspects of associative and nonassociative algebras, automorphisms of polynomial algebras and the Jacobian conjecture, and combinatorics and coding theory. This volume can serve as a solid introductory guide for advanced graduate students, as well as a rich and up-to-date reference source for contemporary researchers in the field.

Among all areas of mathematics, algebra is one of the best suited to find applications within the frame of our booming technological society. The thirty-eight articles in this volume encompass the proceedings of the International Conference on Algebra and Its Applications (Athens, OH, 1999), which explored the applications and interplay among the disciplines of ring theory, linear algebra, and coding theory. The presentations collected here reflect the dialogue between mathematicians involved in theoretical aspects of algebra and mathematicians involved in solving problems where state-of-the-art research tools may be used and applied. This Contemporary Mathematics series volume communicates the potential for collaboration among those interested in exploring the wealth of applications for abstract algebra in fields such as information and coding. The expository papers would serve well as supplemental reading in graduate seminars.