Jim Byrnes - Böcker

Preface JIM BYRNES The chapters in this volume were presented at the July 2003NATO Advanced Study Institute on Computational Noncommutative Algebra and Applications. The conference was held at the beautiful Il Ciocco - sort near Lucca, in the glorious Tuscany region of northern Italy. Once again we gathered at this idyllic spot to explore and extend the re- procity between mathematics and engineering. The dynamic interaction between world-renowned scientists from the usually disparate com- nities of pure mathematicians and applied scientists, which occurred at our 1989, 1991, 1992, 1998, and 2000 ASI's, continued at this meeting. The fusion of algebra, analysis and geometry, and their application to real world problems, have been dominant themes underlying mat- matics for over a century. Geometric algebras, introduced and classi?ed by Cli?ord in the late 19th century, have played a prominent role in this e?ort, as seen in the mathematical work of Cartan, Brauer, Weyl, Chevelley, Atiyah, and Bott, and in applications to physics in the work of Pauli, Dirac and others.One of the most important applications of geometric algebras to geometry is to the representation of groups of - clidean and Minkowski rotations. This aspect and its direct relation to robotics and vision were discussed by several of the Principal Lecturers, and are covered in this book.

Preface JIM BYRNES The chapters in this volume were presented at the July 2003NATO Advanced Study Institute on Computational Noncommutative Algebra and Applications. The conference was held at the beautiful Il Ciocco - sort near Lucca, in the glorious Tuscany region of northern Italy. Once again we gathered at this idyllic spot to explore and extend the re- procity between mathematics and engineering. The dynamic interaction between world-renowned scientists from the usually disparate com- nities of pure mathematicians and applied scientists, which occurred at our 1989, 1991, 1992, 1998, and 2000 ASI's, continued at this meeting. The fusion of algebra, analysis and geometry, and their application to real world problems, have been dominant themes underlying mat- matics for over a century. Geometric algebras, introduced and classi?ed by Cli?ord in the late 19th century, have played a prominent role in this e?ort, as seen in the mathematical work of Cartan, Brauer, Weyl, Chevelley, Atiyah, and Bott, and in applications to physics in the work of Pauli, Dirac and others.One of the most important applications of geometric algebras to geometry is to the representation of groups of - clidean and Minkowski rotations. This aspect and its direct relation to robotics and vision were discussed by several of the Principal Lecturers, and are covered in this book.

The chapters in this volume were presented at the July 2005NATO Advanced Study Institute on Advances in Sensing with Security App- cations. The conference was held at the beautiful Il Ciocco resort near Lucca, in the glorious Tuscany region of northern Italy. Once again we gathered at this idyllic spot to explore and extend the reciprocity between mathematics and engineering. The dynamic interaction - tween world-renowned scientists from the usually disparate communities of pure mathematicians and applied scientists which occurred at our six previous ASI’s continued at this meeting. The fusion of basic ideas in mathematics, biology, and chemistry with ongoing improvements in hardware and computation o?ers the promise of much more sophisticated and accurate sensing capabilities than c- rently exist. Coupled with the dramatic rise in the need for surveillance in innumerable aspects of our daily lives, brought about by hostile acts deemed unimaginable only a few short years ago, the time was right for scientists in the diverse areas of sensing and security to join together in a concerted e?ort to combat the new brands of terrorism. This ASI was one important initial step. To encompass the diverse nature of the s- ject and the varied backgrounds of the anticipated participants, the ASI was divided into three broadly de?ned but interrelated areas: the - creasing need for fast and accurate sensing, the scienti?c underpinnings of the ongoing revolution in sensing, and speci?c sensing algorithms and techniques. The ASI brought together world leaders from academia, government, andindustry,withextensivemultidisciplinarybackgroundsevidencedby theirresearchandparticipationinnumerousworkshopsandconferences.

The chapters in this volume were presented at the July–August 2006 NATO Advanced Study Institute on Imaging for Detection and Identi?cation. The conference was held at the beautiful Il Ciocco resort near Lucca, in the glo- ous Tuscany region of northern Italy. For the eighth time we gathered at this idyllicspottoexploreandextendthereciprocitybetweenmathematicsand- gineering. The dynamic interaction between world-renowned scientists from the usually disparate communities of pure mathematicians and applied sci- tists which occurred at our seven previous ASI’s continued at this meeting. The fusion of basic ideas in mathematics, radar, sonar, biology, and ch- istry with ongoing improvements in hardware and computation offers the promise of much more sophisticated and accurate detection and identi?cation capabilities than currently exist. Coupled with the dramatic rise in the need for surveillance in innumerable aspects of our daily lives, brought about by hostile acts deemed unimaginable only a few short years ago, the time is ripe for image processing scientists in these usually diverse ?elds to join together in a concerted effort to combat the new brands of terrorism. This ASI was one important initial step.