This Proceedings presents refereed versions of most of the papers presented at the NATO Advanced Research Institute on Homotopy Methods and Global Convergence held in Porto Cervo, Sardinia, June 3-6, 1981. This represents the fourth recent occurrence of an international conference addressing the common theme of fixed point computation. The first such conference, ti tled "Computing Fixed Points with Applications," was held in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, June 26-28, 1974 and was sponsored by the Office of Naval Research and the Office of the Army Research Center. The second conference, "Symposium on Analysis and Computation of Fixed Points," was held at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, May 7-8, 1979, under the sponsorship of the National Science Foundation, the U. S. Army, and the Mathematics Research Center of the University of Wisconsin, Madison. The third conference, titled "Symposium on Fixed Point Algorithms and Complementarity," was held at the University of Southampton, Southampton, UK, July 3-5, 1979 and was sponsored by U. N. E. S. C. O. , European Research Office (London), Department of Mathematics (University of Southampton), I. B. M. U. K. , Ltd. , Lloyds Bank, Ltd. , and the Office of Naval Research (London). The Advanced Research Institute held in Sardinia was devoted to the theory and application of modern homotopy methods. The following topics were stressed: Path-Following Techniques; Bottom-Line Applications; Global vs. Classical Methods; and Sta- v vi PREFACE of-the-Art, Perspectives and Potential.

Unlike other analytic techniques, the Homotopy Analysis Method (HAM) is independent of small/large physical parameters. Besides, it provides great freedom to choose equation type and solution expression of related linear high-order approximation equations. The HAM provides a simple way to guarantee the convergence of solution series. Such uniqueness differentiates the HAM from all other analytic approximation methods. In addition, the HAM can be applied to solve some challenging problems with high nonlinearity.This book, edited by the pioneer and founder of the HAM, describes the current advances of this powerful analytic approximation method for highly nonlinear problems. Coming from different countries and fields of research, the authors of each chapter are top experts in the HAM and its applications.

Numerical continuation methods have provided important contributions toward the numerical solution of nonlinear systems of equations for many years. The methods may be used not only to compute solutions, which might otherwise be hard to obtain, but also to gain insight into qualitative properties of the solutions. Introduction to Numerical Continuation Methods, originally published in 1979, was the first book to provide easy access to the numerical aspects of predictor corrector continuation and piecewise linear continuation methods. Not only do these seemingly distinct methods share many common features and general principles, they can be numerically implemented in similar ways. Introduction to Numerical Continuation Methods also features the piecewise linear approximation of implicitly defined surfaces, the algorithms of which are frequently used in computer graphics, mesh generation, and the evaluation of surface integrals.

Nonlinear equations arise in essentially every branch of modern science, engineering, and mathematics. However, in only a very few special cases is it possible to obtain useful solutions to nonlinear equations via analytical calculations. As a result, many scientists resort to computational methods. This book contains the proceedings of the Joint AMS-SIAM Summer Seminar, ``Computational Solution of Nonlinear Systems of Equations,'' held in July 1988 at Colorado State University. The aim of the book is to give a wide-ranging survey of essentially all of the methods which comprise currently active areas of research in the computational solution of systems of nonlinear equations. A number of ``entry-level'' survey papers were solicited, and a series of test problems has been collected in an appendix. Most of the articles are accessible to students who have had a course in numerical analysis.

In the late forties, Mathematical Programming became a scientific discipline in its own right. Since then it has experienced a tremendous growth. Beginning with economic and military applications, it is now among the most important fields of applied mathematics with extensive use in engineering, natural sciences, economics, and biological sciences. The lively activity in this area is demonstrated by the fact that as early as 1949 the first "Symposium on Mathe matical Programming" took place in Chicago. Since then mathematical programmers from all over the world have gath ered at the intfrnational symposia of the Mathematical Programming Society roughly every three years to present their recent research, to exchange ideas with their colleagues and to learn about the latest developments in their own and related fields. In 1982, the XI. International Symposium on Mathematical Programming was held at the University of Bonn, W. Germany, from August 23 to 27. It was organized by the Institut fUr Okonometrie und Operations Re search of the University of Bonn in collaboration with the Sonderforschungs bereich 21 of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. This volume constitutes part of the outgrowth of this symposium and docu ments its scientific activities. Part I of the book contains information about the symposium, welcoming addresses, lists of committees and sponsors and a brief review about the Ful kerson Prize and the Dantzig Prize which were awarded during the opening ceremony.

The goal of the Encyclopedia of Optimization is to introduce the reader to a complete set of topics that show the spectrum of research, the richness of ideas, and the breadth of applications that has come from this field. The second edition builds on the success of the former edition with more than 150 completely new entries, designed to ensure that the reference addresses recent areas where optimization theories and techniques have advanced. Particularly heavy attention resulted in health science and transportation, with entries such as "Algorithms for Genomics", "Optimization and Radiotherapy Treatment Design", and "Crew Scheduling".