In the last decade, there has been a burgeoning of activity in the design and implementation of algorithms for algebraic geometric computation. The workshop on Algorithms in Algebraic Geometry that was held in the framework of the IMA Annual Program Year in Applications of Algebraic Geometry by the Institute for Mathematics and Its Applications on September 2006 is one tangible indication of the interest. This volume of articles captures some of the spirit of the IMA workshop.

The subject of this book is the solution of polynomial equations, that is, s- tems of (generally) non-linear algebraic equations. This study is at the heart of several areas of mathematics and its applications. It has provided the - tivation for advances in di?erent branches of mathematics such as algebra, geometry, topology, and numerical analysis. In recent years, an explosive - velopment of algorithms and software has made it possible to solve many problems which had been intractable up to then and greatly expanded the areas of applications to include robotics, machine vision, signal processing, structural molecular biology, computer-aided design and geometric modelling, as well as certain areas of statistics, optimization and game theory, and b- logical networks. At the same time, symbolic computation has proved to be an invaluable tool for experimentation and conjecture in pure mathematics. As a consequence, the interest in e?ective algebraic geometry and computer algebrahasextendedwellbeyonditsoriginalconstituencyofpureandapplied mathematicians and computer scientists, to encompass many other scientists and engineers. While the core of the subject remains algebraic geometry, it also calls upon many other aspects of mathematics and theoretical computer science, ranging from numerical methods, di?erential equations and number theory to discrete geometry, combinatorics and complexity theory. Thegoalofthisbookistoprovideageneralintroduction tomodernma- ematical aspects in computing with multivariate polynomials and in solving algebraic systems.

In the last decade, there has been a burgeoning of activity in the design and implementation of algorithms for algebraic geometric computation. The workshop on Algorithms in Algebraic Geometry that was held in the framework of the IMA Annual Program Year in Applications of Algebraic Geometry by the Institute for Mathematics and Its Applications on September 2006 is one tangible indication of the interest. This volume of articles captures some of the spirit of the IMA workshop.

The subject of this book is the solution of polynomial equations, that is, s- tems of (generally) non-linear algebraic equations. This study is at the heart of several areas of mathematics and its applications. It has provided the - tivation for advances in di?erent branches of mathematics such as algebra, geometry, topology, and numerical analysis. In recent years, an explosive - velopment of algorithms and software has made it possible to solve many problems which had been intractable up to then and greatly expanded the areas of applications to include robotics, machine vision, signal processing, structural molecular biology, computer-aided design and geometric modelling, as well as certain areas of statistics, optimization and game theory, and b- logical networks. At the same time, symbolic computation has proved to be an invaluable tool for experimentation and conjecture in pure mathematics. As a consequence, the interest in e?ective algebraic geometry and computer algebrahasextendedwellbeyonditsoriginalconstituencyofpureandapplied mathematicians and computer scientists, to encompass many other scientists and engineers. While the core of the subject remains algebraic geometry, it also calls upon many other aspects of mathematics and theoretical computer science, ranging from numerical methods, di?erential equations and number theory to discrete geometry, combinatorics and complexity theory. Thegoalofthisbookistoprovideageneralintroduction tomodernma- ematical aspects in computing with multivariate polynomials and in solving algebraic systems.