Electronic Journal of Differential Equations, Conference 03, 1999.

Proceedings of the Fourth Mississippi State Conference on Difference Equations and Computational Simulations

Foreword

With the advent and rapid development of high performance computing and communication (HPCC) and robust and efficient mathematical/numerical algorithms, computational simulation has rapidly emerged as an essential tool for engineering analysis and design environment. It has fundamentally changed the way the underlying principles of science and engineering are applied to research, design, and development. Computational simulations involve (i) a system of differential equations representative of the physical phenomena (mathematical model); (ii) a numerical method to simulate the mathematical models; and (iii) an efficient sequential/parallel/distributed computing environment requiring an interdisciplinary collaboration between various scientific and engineering fields. A truly multidisciplinary conference on Differential Equations and Computational Simulation, biannually organized by the Department of Mathematics and Statistics and the NSF Engineering Research Center (NSF/ERC) at Mississippi State University (MSU), provides a joint forum where mathematicians, scientists, and engineers from industries, federal laboratories, and academia exchange research and development ideas. An overall goal for the series of conferences is to promote research and education in mathematical and computational analysis of theoretical and applied differential equations.

The first three Mississippi State Conferences on Differential Equations and Computational Simulations were held March 19-20, 1993, April 7-8, 1995, and May 16-17, 1997. Special issues of the Journal of Applied Mathematics and Computation (65:1-3, 1994 and 89:1-3, 1998) and of the electronic Journal of Differential Equations (Conference-01, 1997) were dedicated to the reviewed papers presented during these conferences.

The technical success of the first three conferences has led to a traditional offering of these biannual conferences. The fourth Mississippi State Conference on Differential Equations and Computational Simulations took place May 21-22, 1999. More than 110 researchers attended the fourth conference. Invited principal lectures were

In addition, 72 contributed papers, representing speakers from eight countries, were presented during the two days of meetings. Professors Rathasingham Shivaji and Bharat Soni served as conference organizers while Professor Jianping Zhu served as the Program Chair.

The papers represent research in the following multidisciplinary areas:

We would like to thank the participants and principal speakers for their useful contributions to the success of the conference and subsequent papers. We gratefully acknowledge the support provided by the National Science Foundation and the Dean of Arts and Sciences, the Dean of Engineering, Vice President for Research, and the faculty and staff of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics and the NSF Engineering Research Center at MSU. We appreciate the diligence and responsiveness of the reviewers of the manuscripts. As this goes to press, the Fifth Mississippi State Conference on Differential Equations and Computational Simulations has been planned for May 18-19, 2001 at Mississippi State University. We are confident that the tradition of technical success from the first four conferences will continue.

Special Issue Editors

John Graef, Rathasingham Shivaji, Jiangping Zhu
Department of Mathematics and Statistics.

Bharat Soni
Department of Aerospace Engineering
Mississippi State University.


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