Asymptotic and Numerical Methods for Partial Differential Equations with Critical Parameters

This volume contains the proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on "Asymptotic-induced Numerical Methods for Partial Differ- ential Equations, Critical Parameters, and Domain Decomposition," held at Beaune (France), May 25-28, 1992. The purpose of the workshop was to stimulate the integration of asymp- totic analysis, domain decomposition methods, and symbolic manipulation tools for the numerical solution of partial differential equations (PDEs) with critical parameters. A workshop on the same topic was held at Argonne Na- tional Laboratory in February 1990. (The proceedings were published under the title Asymptotic Analysis and the Numerical Solu.tion of Partial Differ- ential Equations, Hans G. Kaper and Marc Garbey, eds., Lecture Notes in Pure and Applied Mathematics. Vol. 130, -Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, 1991.) In a sense, the present proceedings represent a progress report on the topic area. Comparing the two sets of proceedings, we see an increase in the quantity as well as the quality of the contributions. 110re research is being done in the topic area, and the interest covers serious, nontrivial problems. We are pleased with this outcome and expect to see even more advances in the next few years as the field progresses.