Spatio-temporal patterns appear almost everywhere in nature, and their description and understanding still raise important and basic questions. However, if one looks back 20 or 30 years, definite progress has been made in the modeling of insta bilities, analysis of the dynamics in their vicinity, pattern formation and stability, quantitative experimental and numerical analysis of patterns, and so on. Universal behaviors of complex systems close to instabilities have been determined, leading to the wide interdisciplinarity of a field that is now referred to as nonlinear science or science of complexity, and in which initial concepts of dissipative structures or synergetics are deeply rooted. In pioneering domains related to hydrodynamics or chemical instabilities, the interactions between experimentalists and theoreticians, sometimes on a daily basis, have been a key to progress. Everyone in the field praises the role played by the interactions and permanent feedbacks between ex perimental, numerical, and analytical studies in the achievements obtained during these years. Many aspects of convective patterns in normal fluids, binary mixtures or liquid crystals are now understood and described in this framework. The generic pres ence of defects in extended systems is now well established and has induced new developments in the physics of laser with large Fresnel numbers. Last but not least, almost 40 years after his celebrated paper, Turing structures have finally been ob tained in real-life chemical reactors, triggering anew intense activity in the field of reaction-diffusion systems.

On Growth and Form Spatio-temporal Pattern Formation in Biology M. A. J. Chaplain and G. D. Singh, both of the University of Dundee, UK J. C. McLachlan, St. Andrews University, UK Spatio-temporal pattern formation is a major area of research within the subject of mathematical biology. The topic involves the use of mathematical modelling to analyse how patterns in biology are created and develop. For example, the growth, over time, of the intricate and beautiful patterns on certain sea-shells or the striped markings on a tiger can be modelled and their development predicted in terms of non-linear mathematical processes. The current volume captures the breadth of recent research into various aspects of spatio-temporal pattern and form, such as development biology, reaction-diffusion systems and morphometrics. * Brings the ideas of the classic On Growth and Form by D'Arcy Thompson, the founding classic of mathematical biology, fully up to date and looks to future developments in the subject * Foreword provided by Professor John Tyler Bonner, Princeton University * World class collection of internationally renowned contributors from both experimental and theoretical backgrounds Taking its inspiration from D'Arcy Thompson's classic and still influential volume On Growth and Form, this new volume presents a collection of 21 articles from the Plenary Speakers of the recent D'Arcy Thompson Conference, held at the University of Dundee, 20-24 September 1998. The topics covered include pattern formation in development biology, reaction-diffusion systems, intercellular systems and morphometrics, offering the reader a stimulating blend of theory and experiment. This book will be of particular interest to bio-mathematicians and development biologists. Paediatric clinicians, evolutionary biologists, orthodontists, anatomists, physiologists and many other members of the biology community will also benefit greatly from it.

Although the spatial dimension of ecosystem dynamics is now widely recognized, the specific mechanisms behind species patterning in space are still poorly understood and the corresponding theoretical framework is underdeveloped. Going beyond the classical Turing scenario of pattern formation, Spatiotemporal Patterns in Ecology and Epidemiology:

This self-contained treatment covers all aspects of nonlinear dynamics, from fundamentals to recent developments, in a unified and comprehensive way. Numerous examples and exercises will help the student to assimilate and apply the techniques presented.

Spatio-temporal patterns appear almost everywhere in nature, and their description and understanding still raise important and basic questions. However, if one looks back 20 or 30 years, definite progress has been made in the modeling of insta bilities, analysis of the dynamics in their vicinity, pattern formation and stability, quantitative experimental and numerical analysis of patterns, and so on. Universal behaviors of complex systems close to instabilities have been determined, leading to the wide interdisciplinarity of a field that is now referred to as nonlinear science or science of complexity, and in which initial concepts of dissipative structures or synergetics are deeply rooted. In pioneering domains related to hydrodynamics or chemical instabilities, the interactions between experimentalists and theoreticians, sometimes on a daily basis, have been a key to progress. Everyone in the field praises the role played by the interactions and permanent feedbacks between ex perimental, numerical, and analytical studies in the achievements obtained during these years. Many aspects of convective patterns in normal fluids, binary mixtures or liquid crystals are now understood and described in this framework. The generic pres ence of defects in extended systems is now well established and has induced new developments in the physics of laser with large Fresnel numbers. Last but not least, almost 40 years after his celebrated paper, Turing structures have finally been ob tained in real-life chemical reactors, triggering anew intense activity in the field of reaction-diffusion systems.

This book brings together concepts from semiconductor physics, nonlinear-dynamics and chaos to examine semiconductor transport phenomena.