This Festschrift volume in honour of Prof. E R Caianiello contains invited papers of eminent scientists who have worked in the several areas to which Prof. Caianiello has given seminal contributions: quantum field theory, foundations of quantum mechanics and maximal acceleration (Vol. 1); neural nets, general systems theory and various topics of cybernetics (Vol. 2). The wide range of topics covered shows the fruitfulness of a higher unifying perspective on seemingly diverse subjects.

Almost all theories of fundamental interactions are nowadays based on the gauge concept. Starting with the historical example of quantum electrodynamics, we have been led to the successful unified gauge theory of weak and electromagnetic interactions, and finally to a non abelian gauge theory of strong interactions with the notion of permanently confined quarks. The. early theoretical work on gauge theories was devoted to proofs of renormalizability, investigation of short distance behaviour, the discovery of asymptotic freedom, etc . . , aspects which were accessible to tools extrapolated from renormalised perturbation theory. The second phase of the subject is concerned with the problem of quark confinement which necessitates a non-perturbative understanding of gauge theories. This phase has so far been marked by the introduc tion of ideas from geometry, topology and statistical mechanics in particular the theory of phase transitions. The 1979 Cargese Institute on "Recent Developments on Gauge Theories" was devoted to a thorough discussion of these non-perturbative, global aspects of non-abelian gauge theories. In the lectures and seminars reproduced in this volume the reader wilf find detailed reports on most of the important developments of recent times on non perturbative gauge fields by some of the leading experts and innovators in this field. Aside from lectures on gauge fields proper, there were lectures on gauge field concepts in condensed matter physics and lectures by mathematicians on global aspects of the calculus of variations, its relation to geometry and topology, and related topics.

Over the past three decades R.E. Kalman has been one of the most influential personalities in system and control theory. His ideas have been instrumental in a variety of areas. This is a Festschrift honoring his 60th birthday. It contains contributions from leading researchers in the field giving an account of the profound influence of his ideas in a number of areas of active research in system and control theory. For example, since their introduction by Kalman in the early 60's, the concepts of controllability and observability of dynamical systems with inputs, have been the corner stone of the great majority of investigations in the field.

This four-volume work represents the most comprehensive documentation and study of the creation of general relativity. Einstein’s 1912 Zurich notebook is published for the first time in facsimile and transcript and commented on by today’s major historians of science. Additional sources from Einstein and others, who from the late 19th to the early 20th century contributed to this monumental development, are presented here in translation for the first time. The volumes offer detailed commentaries and analyses of these sources that are based on a close reading of these documents supplemented by interpretations by the leading historians of relativity.