Analysis and Optimization of Differential Systems focuses on the qualitative aspects of deterministic and stochastic differential equations. Areas covered include: Ordinary and partial differential systems; Optimal control of deterministic and stochastic evolution equations; Control theory of Partial Differential Equations (PDE's); Optimization methods in PDE's with numerous applications to mechanics and physics; Inverse problems; Stability theory; Abstract optimization problems; Calculus of variations; Numerical treatment of solutions to differential equations and related optimization problems. These research fields are under very active development and the present volume should be of interest to students and researchers working in applied mathematics or in system engineering. This volume contains selected contributions presented during the International Working Conference on Analysis and Optimization of Differential Systems, which was sponsored by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) and held in Constanta, Romania in September 2002. Among the aims of this conference was the creation of new international contacts and collaborations, taking advantage of the new developments in Eastern Europe, particularly in Romania. The conference benefited from the support of the European Union via the EURROMMAT program.

The main part of the book is based on a one semester graduate course for students in mathematics. I have attempted to develop the theory of hyperbolic systems of differen tial equations in a systematic way, making as much use as possible ofgradient systems and their algebraic representation. However, despite the strong sim ilarities between the development of ideas here and that found in a Lie alge bras course this is not a book on Lie algebras. The order of presentation has been determined mainly by taking into account that algebraic representation and homomorphism correspondence with a full rank Lie algebra are the basic tools which require a detailed presentation. I am aware that the inclusion of the material on algebraic and homomorphism correspondence with a full rank Lie algebra is not standard in courses on the application of Lie algebras to hyperbolic equations. I think it should be. Moreover, the Lie algebraic structure plays an important role in integral representation for solutions of nonlinear control systems and stochastic differential equations yelding results that look quite different in their original setting. Finite-dimensional nonlin ear filters for stochastic differential equations and, say, decomposability of a nonlinear control system receive a common understanding in this framework."

The main part of the book is based on a one semester graduate course for students in mathematics. I have attempted to develop the theory of hyperbolic systems of differen tial equations in a systematic way, making as much use as possible ofgradient systems and their algebraic representation. However, despite the strong sim ilarities between the development of ideas here and that found in a Lie alge bras course this is not a book on Lie algebras. The order of presentation has been determined mainly by taking into account that algebraic representation and homomorphism correspondence with a full rank Lie algebra are the basic tools which require a detailed presentation. I am aware that the inclusion of the material on algebraic and homomorphism correspondence with a full rank Lie algebra is not standard in courses on the application of Lie algebras to hyperbolic equations. I think it should be. Moreover, the Lie algebraic structure plays an important role in integral representation for solutions of nonlinear control systems and stochastic differential equations yelding results that look quite different in their original setting. Finite-dimensional nonlin ear filters for stochastic differential equations and, say, decomposability of a nonlinear control system receive a common understanding in this framework."