The calculus of variations is a classical area of mathematical analysi s-300 years old-yet its myriad applications in science and technology continue to hold great interest and keep it an active area of research . These two volumes contain the refereed proceedings of the internatio nal conference on Calculus of Variations and Related Topics held at th e Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in March 1998. The conferenc e commemorated 300 years of work in the field and brought together man y of its leading experts. The papers in the first volume focus on cri tical point theory and differential equations. The other volume deals with variational aspects of optimal control. Together they provide a u nique opportunity to review the state-of-the-art of the calculus of va riations, as presented by an international panel of masters in the fie ld.