The present book is the first of the two volume proceedings of the Mark Krein International Conference on Operator Theory and Applications. This conference, which was dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the prominent mathematician Mark Krein, was held in Odessa, Ukraine, from August 18-22, 1997. The conference focused on the main ideas, methods, results, and achievements of M. G. Krein. This first volume is devoted to the theory of differential operators and related topics. It opens with a description of the conference, biographical material and a number of survey papers about the work of M. G. Krein. The main part of the book consists of original research papers presenting the state of the art in the area of differential operators. The second volume of these proceedings, entitled Operator Theory and Related Topics, concerns the other aspects of the conference. The two volumes will be of interest to a wide range of readership in pure and applied mathematics, physics and engineering sciences.

This volume presents the Proceedings of the Joint U.S. / Israel Workshop on Operator Theory and Its Applications, held February 24-28, 1992, at the Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheva. This event was sponsored by the United States / Israel Binational Science Foundation and the Ben Gurion University of the Negev, and many outstanding experts in operator theory took part. The workshop honored Professor Emeritus Moshe Livsic on the occasion of his retirement. The volume contains a selection of papers covering a wide range of topics in modern operator theory and its applications, from abstract operator theory to system theory and computers in operator models. The papers treat linear and nonlinear problems, and study operators from different abstract and concrete classes. Many of the topics concern the area in which contributions of Moshe Livsic were extremely important. This book will appeal to a wide audience of pure and applied mathematicians and engineers.

This monograph combines the commutant lifting theorem for operator theory and the state space method from system theory to provide a unified approach for solving both stationary and nonstationary interpolation problems with norm constraints. Included are the operator-valued versions of the tangential Nevanlinna-Pick problem, the Hermite-FejA(c)r problem, the Nehari problem, the Sarason problem, and the two-sided Nudelman problem, and their nonstationary analogues. The main results concern the existence of solutions, the explicit construction of the central solutions in state space form, the maximum entropy property of the central solutions, and state space parametrizations of all solutions. Direct connections between the various interpolation problems are displayed. Applications to H infinity] control problems are presented. This monograph should appeal to a wide group of mathematicians and engineers. The material is self-contained and may be used for advanced graduate courses and seminars.

6 Preliminaries.- 6.1 The operator of singular integration.- 6.2 The space Lp(?, ?).- 6.3 Singular integral operators.- 6.4 The spaces $$L_{p}^{ + }(\Gamma, \rho ), L_{p}^{ - }(\Gamma, \rho ) and \mathop{{L_{p}^{ - }}}\limits^{^\circ } (\Gamma, \rho )$$.- 6.5 Factorization.- 6.6 One-sided invertibility of singular integral operators.- 6.7 Fredholm operators.- 6.8 The local principle for singular integral operators.- 6.9 The interpolation theorem.- 7 General theorems.- 7.1 Change of the curve.- 7.2 The quotient norm of singular integral operators.- 7.3 The principle of separation of singularities.- 7.4 A necessary condition.- 7.5 Theorems on kernel and cokernel of singular integral operators.- 7.6 Two theorems on connections between singular integral operators.- 7.7 Index cancellation and approximative inversion of singular integral operators.- 7.8 Exercises.- Comments and references.- 8 The generalized factorization of bounded measurable functions and its applications.- 8.1 Sketch of the problem.- 8.2 Functions admitting a generalized factorization with respect to a curve in Lp(?, ?).- 8.3 Factorization in the spaces Lp(?, ?).- 8.4 Application of the factorization to the inversion of singular integral operators.- 8.5 Exercises.- Comments and references.- 9 Singular integral operators with piecewise continuous coefficients and their applications.- 9.1 Non-singular functions and their index.- 9.2 Criteria for the generalized factorizability of power functions.- 9.3 The inversion of singular integral operators on a closed curve.- 9.4 Composed curves.- 9.5 Singular integral operators with continuous coefficients on a composed curve.- 9.6 The case of the real axis.- 9.7 Another method of inversion.- 9.8 Singular integral operators with regel functions coefficients.- 9.9 Estimates for the norms of the operators P?, Q? and S?.- 9.10 Singular operators on spaces H?o(?, ?).- 9.11 Singular operators on symmetric spaces.- 9.12 Fredholm conditions in the case of arbitrary weights.- 9.13 Technical lemmas.- 9.14 Toeplitz and paired operators with piecewise continuous coefficients on the spaces lp and ?p.- 9.15 Some applications.- 9.16 Exercises.- Comments and references.- 10 Singular integral operators on non-simple curves.- 10.1 Technical lemmas.- 10.2 A preliminary theorem.- 10.3 The main theorem.- 10.4 Exercises.- Comments and references.- 11 Singular integral operators with coefficients having discontinuities of almost periodic type.- 11.1 Almost periodic functions and their factorization.- 11.2 Lemmas on functions with discontinuities of almost periodic type.- 11.3 The main theorem.- 11.4 Operators with continuous coefficients - the degenerate case.- 11.5 Exercises.- Comments and references.- 12 Singular integral operators with bounded measurable coefficients.- 12.1 Singular operators with measurable coefficients in the space L2(?).- 12.2 Necessary conditions in the space L2(?).- 12.3 Lemmas.- 12.4 Singular operators with coefficients in ?p(?). Sufficient conditions.- 12.5 The Helson-Szegoe theorem and its generalization.- 12.6 On the necessity of the condition a ? Sp.- 12.7 Extension of the class of coefficients.- 12.8 Exercises.- Comments and references.- 13 Exact constants in theorems on the boundedness of singular operators.- 13.1 Norm and quotient norm of the operator of singular integration.- 13.2 A second proof of Theorem 4.1 of Chapter 12.- 13.3 Norm and quotient norm of the operator S? on weighted spaces.- 13.4 Conditions for Fredholmness in spaces Lp(?, ?).- 13.5 Norms and quotient norm of the operator aI + bS?.- 13.6 Exercises.- Comments and references.- References.

This volume, dedicated to Bernd Silbermann on his sixtieth birthday, collects research articles on Toeplitz matrices and singular integral equations written by leading area experts. The subjects of the contributions include Banach algebraic methods, Toeplitz determinants and random matrix theory, Fredholm theory and numerical analysis for singular integral equations, and efficient algorithms for linear systems with structured matrices, and reflect Bernd Silbermann's broad spectrum of research interests. The volume also contains a biographical essay and a list of publications. The book is addressed to a wide audience in the mathematical and engineering sciences. The articles are carefully written and are accessible to motivated readers with basic knowledge in functional analysis and operator theory.

This book is dedicated to the memory of an outstanding mathematician and personality, Vladimir Petrovich Potapov, who made important contributions to and exerted considerable influence in the areas of operator theory, complex analysis and their points of juncture. The book commences with insightful biographical material, and then presents a collection of papers on different aspects of operator theory and complex analysis covering those recent achievements of the Odessa-Kharkov school in which Potapov was very active. The papers deal with interrelated problems and methods. The main topics are the multiplicative structure of contractive matrix and operator functions, operators in spaces with indefinite scalar products, inverse problems for systems of differential equations, interpolation and approximation problems for operator and matrix functions. The book will appeal to a wide group of mathematicians and engineers, and much of the material can be used for advanced courses and seminars.

This volume presents the proceedings of the 11th Conference on Problems and Methods in Mathematical Physics (11th TMP), held in Chemnitz, March 25-28, 1999. The conference was dedicated to the memory of Siegfried PrAssdorf, who made important contributions to the theory and numerical analysis of operator equations and their applications in mathematical physics and mechanics. The main part of the book comprises original research papers. The topics are ranging from integral and pseudodifferential equations, boundary value problems, operator theory, boundary element and wavelet methods, approximation theory and inverse problems to various concrete problems and applications in physics and engineering, and reflect PrAssdorf's broad spectrum of research activities. The volume also contains articles describing the life and mathematical achievements of Siegfried PrAssdorf and includes a list of his publications. The book is addressed to a wide audience in the mathematical and engineering sciences.

This book is dedicated to a theory of traces and determinants on embedded algebras of linear operators, where the trace and determinant are extended from finite rank operators by a limit process. The self-contained material should appeal to a wide group of mathematicians and engineers, and is suitable for teaching.

This volume is dedicated to Harold Widom, a distinguished mathematician and renowned expert in the area of Toeplitz, Wiener-Hopf and pseudodifferential operators, on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday. The book opens with biographical material and a list of the mathematician's publications, this being followed by two papers based on Toeplitz lectures which he delivered at Tel Aviv University in March, 1993. The rest of the book consists of a selection of papers containing some recent achievements in the following areas: SzegA-Widom asymptotic formulas for determinants of finite sections of Toeplitz matrices and their generalizations, the Fisher-Hartwig conjecture, random matrices, analysis of kernels of Toeplitz matrices, projectional methods and eigenvalue distribution for Toeplitz matrices, the Fredholm theory for convolution type operators, the Nehari interpolation problem with generalizations and applications, and Toeplitz-Hausdorff type theorems. The book will appeal to a wide audience of pure and applied mathematicians.

The book is complemented by biographical information. This volume is dedicated to Peter Lancaster, an outstanding expert in operator and matrix theory, numerical analysis and applications, on the occasion of his seventieth birthday. The book contains a selection of recent original research papers in linear algebra and analysis, areas in which Peter Lancaster was very active. The articles are complemented by biographical data and a list of publications. Contributed volume in honor of Peter Lancaster, an outstanding expert in operator theory, matrix theory and numerical analysis. The articles have been carefully selected and refereed and cover topics in linear algebra and analysis where Peter Lancaster was very active.

This book is composed of three survey lecture courses and some twenty invited research papers presented to WOAT 2006 - the International Summer School and Workshop on Operator Algebras, Operator Theory and Applications, which was held at Lisbon in September 2006. The volume reflects recent developments in the area of operator algebras and their interaction with research fields in complex analysis and operator theory. The lecture courses contain: an introduction to two classes of non-selfadjoint operator algebras, the generalized analytic Toeplitz algebras associated with the Fock space of a graph and subalgebras of graph C*-algebras; three topics on numerical functional analysis that are the cornerstones in asymptotic spectral theory: stability, fractality and Fredholmness; a survey concerning Hilbert spaces of holomorphic functions on Hermitian symmetric domains of arbitrary rank and dimension, in relation to operator theory, harmonic analysis and quantization.

The present book deals with factorization problems for matrix and operator functions. The problems originate from, or are motivated by, the theory of non-selfadjoint operators, the theory of matrix polynomials, mathematical systems and control theory, the theory of Riccati equations, inversion of convolution operators, theory of job scheduling in operations research. The book systematically employs a geometric principle of factorization which has its origins in the state space theory of linear input-output systems and in the theory of characteristic operator functions. This principle allows one to deal with different factorizations from one point of view. Covered are canonical factorization, minimal and non-minimal factorizations, pseudo-canonical factorization, and various types of degree one factorization.

Considerable attention is given to the matter of stability of factorization which in terms of the state space method involves stability of invariant subspaces.invariant subspaces.

The present book is the second of the two volume Proceedings of the Mark Krein International Conference on Operator Theory and Applications. This conference, which was dedicated to the 90th Anniversary of the prominent mathematician Mark Krein, was held in Odessa, Ukraine from 18-22 August, 1997. The conference focused on the main ideas, methods, results, and achievements of M. G. Krein. This second volume is devoted to operator theory and related topics. It opens with the bibliography of M. G. Krein and a number of survey papers about his work. The main part of the book consists of original research papers presenting the state of the art in operator theory and its applications. The first volume of these proceedings, entitled Differential Operators and related Topics, concerns the other aspects of the conference. The two volumes will be of interest to a wide-range of readership in pure and applied mathematics, physics and engineering sciences. Table of Contents Preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v Table of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii Bibliography of Mark Grigorevich Krein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix Review papers: M. G. Krein's Contributions to Prediction Theory H. Dym M. G. Krein's Contribution to the Moment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 AA Nudelman Research Papers: Solution of the Truncated Matrix Hamburger Moment Problem according to M. G. Krein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Y. M. Adamyan and I. M. Tkachenko Extreme Points of a Positive Operator Ball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 T. Ando M-accretive Extensions of Sectorial Operators and Krein Spaces . . . . . . . . . 67 Y. M. Arlinskii A Simple Proof of the Continuous Commutant Lifting Theorem . . . . . . . . . . 83 R. Bruzual and M.

This volume consists of eight papers on new advances in interpolation theory for matrix functions and completion theory for matrices and operators. Much emphasis is placed on different interpolation and completion problems when the interpolant is estimated in two different norms. The book also focusses on the study of the spectra of different completions of 2 x 2 block matrices when originally all entries are specified except the lower left corner. A third theme concerns two-sided tangential interpolation problems for real rational matrix functions, and also for the time varying case. A tangential moment problem is also analyzed. All papers deal with related problems of modern matrix analysis, operator theory, complex analysis and system theory and will appeal to a wide group of mathematicians and engineers. The material can be used for advance courses and seminars. Contents: Editorial Introduction ? D. Alpay/P. Loubaton: The tangential trigonometric moment problem on an interval and related topics ? M. Bakonyi/V.G. Kaftal/G. Weiss/H.J. Woerdeman: Maximum entropy and joint norm bounds for operator extensions ? J.A. Ball/I. Gohberg/M.A. Kaashoek: Bitangential interpolation for input-output operators of time varying systems: the discrete time case ? J.A. Ball/I. Gohberg/L. Rodman: Two-sided tangential interpolation of real rational matrix functions ? H. Du/C. Gu: On the spectra of operator completion problems ? C. Foias/A.E. Frazho/W.S. Li: The exact H2 estimate for the central H interpolant ? A.E. Frazho/s.M. Kherat: On mixed H2 - H tangential interpolation ? I. Gohberg/C.Gu: On a completion problem for matrices

Thisvolumeofthe Operator Theory: Advances and Applications series (OTAA) isthe ?rst volume of a new subseries. This subseries is dedicated to connections between the theory of linear operators and the mathematical theory of linear systems and is named Linear Operators and Linear Systems (LOLS).Asthe- isting subseries Advances in Partial Di?erential Equations (ADPE), the new s- series will continue the traditions of the OTAA series and keep the high quality of the volumes. The editors of the new subseries are: Daniel Alpay (Beer-Sheva, - rael), Joseph Ball (Blacksburg, Virginia, USA) and Andr e Ran (Amsterdam, The Netherlands). In the last 25-30 years, Mathematical System Theory developed in an ess- tial way. A large part of this development was connected with the use of the state space method. Let us mention for instance the "theory of H control". The state ? space method allowed to introduce in system theory the modern tools of matrix and operator theory. On the other hand the state space approach had an imp- tant impact on Algebra, Analysis and Operator Theory. In particular it allowed to solve explicitly some problems from interpolation theory, theory of convolution equations, inverse problems for canonical di?erential equations and their discrete analogs. All these directions are planned to be present in the subseries LOLS. The editors and the publisher are inviting authors to submit their manuscripts for publication in this subseries.

The present book deals with canonical factorization of matrix and operator functions that appear in state space form or that can be transformed into such a form. A unified geometric approach is used. The main results are all expressed explicitly in terms of matrices or operators, which are parameters of the state space representation. The applications concern different classes of convolution equations. A large part the book deals with rational matrix functions only.

This book presents a panorama of operator theory. It treats a variety of classes of linear operators which illustrate the richness of the theory, both in its theoretical developments and its applications. For each of the classes various differential and integral operators motivate or illustrate the main results. The topics have been updated and enhanced by new developments, many of which appear here for the first time. Interconnections appear frequently and unexpectedly. This second volume consists of five parts: triangular representations, classes of Toeplitz operators, contractive operators and characteristic operator functions, Banach algebras and algebras of operators, and extension and completion problems. The exposition is self-contained and has been simplified and polished in an effort to make advanced topics accessible to a wide audience of students and researchers in mathematics, science and engineering. Contents: Vol. I - This book presents a panorama of operator theory. It treats a variety of classes of linear operators which illustrate the richness of the theory, both in its theoretical developments and its applications. For each of the classes various differential and integral operators motivate or illustrate the main results. The topics have been updated and enhanced by new developments, many of which appear here for the first time. Interconnections appear frequently and unexpectedly. The present volume consists of four parts: general spectral theory, classes of compact operators, Fredholm and Wiener-Hopf operators, and classes of unbounded operators: The exposition is self-contained and has been simplified and polished in an effort to make advanced topics accessible to a wide audience of students and researchers in mathematics, science and engineering. ..". Used as a graduate textbook, the book allows the instructor several good selections of topics to build a course. ... The authors took great care to polish and simplify the exposition; as a result, the book can serve also as an excellent basis for reading courses or for self-study. ... Besides being a textbook, the book is a valuable reference source for a wide audience of mathematicians, physicists and engineers. The specialists in functional analysis and operator theory will find most of the topics familiar, although the exposition is often novel or non-traditional, making the material more accessible. ..." (Zentralblatt fA1/4r Mathematik) / "This book presents an excellently chosen panorama of operator theory. It shows for several times the fruitful application of complex analysis to problems in operator theory. ... Each part contains interesting exercises and comments on the literature of the topic." (Monatshefte fA1/4r Mathematik)

This volume is based on the proceedings of the Toeplitz Lectures 1999 and of the Workshop in Operator Theory held in March 1999 at Tel-Aviv University and at the Weizmann Institute of Science. The workshop was held on the occasion of the 60th birthday of Harry Dym, and the Toeplitz lecturers were Harry Dym and Jim Rovnyak. The papers in the volume reflect Harry's influence on the field of operator theory and its applications through his insights, his writings, and his personality. The volume begins with an autobiographical sketch, followed by the list ofpublications ofHarry Dym and the paper ofIsrael Gohberg: On Joint Work with Harry Dym. The following paper by Jim Rovnyak: Methods of Krdn Space Operator The- ory, is based on his Toeplitz lectures. It gives a survey ofold and recents methods of KreIn space operator theory along with examples from function theory, espe- cially substitution operators on indefinite Dirichlet spaces and their relation to coefficient problems for univalent functions, an idea pioneered by 1. de Branges and underlying his proof of the Bieberbach conjecture (see [9]). The remaining papers (arranged in the alphabetical order) can be divided into the following categories. Schur analysis and interpolation In Notes on Interpolation in the Generalized Schur Class. I, D. Alpay, T. Con- stantinescu, A. Dijksma, and J. Rovnyak use realization theory for operator colli- gations in Pontryagin spaces to study interpolation and factorization problems in generalized Schur classes.

Nevanlinna-Pick interpolation for time-varying input-output maps: The discrete case.- 0. Introduction.- 1. Preliminaries.- 2. J-Unitary operators on ?2.- 3. Time-varying Nevanlinna-Pick interpolation.- 4. Solution of the time-varying tangential Nevanlinna-Pick interpolation problem.- 5. An illustrative example.- References.- Nevanlinna-Pick interpolation for time-varying input-output maps: The continuous time case.- 0. Introduction.- 1. Generalized point evaluation.- 2. Bounded input-output maps.- 3. Residue calculus and diagonal expansion.- 4. J-unitary and J-inner operators.- 5. Time-varying Nevanlinna-Pick interpolation.- 6. An example.- References.- Dichotomy of systems and invertibility of linear ordinary differential operators.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Preliminaries.- 3. Invertibility of differential operators on the real line.- 4. Relations between operators on the full line and half line.- 5. Fredholm properties of differential operators on a half line.- 6. Fredholm properties of differential operators on a full line.- 7. Exponentially dichotomous operators.- 8. References.- Inertia theorems for block weighted shifts and applications.- 1. Introduction.- 2. One sided block weighted shifts.- 3. Dichotomies for left systems and two sided systems.- 4. Two sided block weighted shifts.- 5. Asymptotic inertia.- 6. References.- Interpolation for upper triangular operators.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Preliminaries.- 3. Colligations & characteristic functions.- 4. Towards interpolation.- 5. Explicit formulas for ?.- 6. Admissibility and more on general interpolation.- 7. Nevanlinna-Pick Interpolation.- 8. Caratheodory-Fejer interpolation.- 9. Mixed interpolation problems.- 10. Examples.- 11. Block Toeplitz & some implications.- 12. Varying coordinate spaces.- 13. References.- Minimality and realization of discrete time-varying systems.- 1. Preliminaries.- 2. Observability and reachability.- 3. Minimality for time-varying systems.- 4. Proofs of the minimality theorems.- 5. Realizations of infinite lower triangular matrices.- 6. The class of systems with constant state space dimension.- 7. Minimality and realization for periodical systems.- References.

Schur analysis originates with a 1917 paper by Schur where he associated to a function analytic and contractive in the open unit disk a sequence, finite or infinite, of numbers in the open unit disk, called Schur coefficients. In signal processing, they are often called reflection coefficients. Under the word "Schur analysis" one encounters a variety of problems related to Schur functions such as interpolation problems, moment problems, study of the relationships between the Schur coefficients and the properties of the function, study of underlying operators and others.

This volume is almost entirely dedicated to the analysis of Schur and CarathA(c)odory functions and to the solutions of problems for these classes.

The main concern of this book is the distribution of zeros of polynomials that are orthogonal on the unit circle with respect to an indefinite weighted scalar or inner product. The first theorem of this type, proved by M. G. Krein, was a far-reaching generalization of G. Szeg 's result for the positive definite case. A continuous analogue of that theorem was proved by Krein and H. Langer. These results, as well as many generalizations and extensions, are thoroughly treated in this book. A unifying theme is the general problem of orthogonalization with invertible squares in modules over C*-algebras. Particular modules that are considered in detail include modules of matrices, matrix polynomials, matrix-valued functions, linear operators, and others. One of the central features of this book is the interplay between orthogonal polynomials and their generalizations on the one hand, and operator theory, especially the theory of Toeplitz marices and operators, and Fredholm and Wiener-Hopf operators, on the other hand. The book is of interest to both engineers and specialists in analysis.

This volume is dedicated to the eminent Russian mathematician Igor Borisovich Simonenko on the occasion of his 70th birthday. The contributions are written by leading experts and present the state of the art in a number of areas originally initiated in pioneer works by I. B. Simonenko. Among the topics covered are Fredholm theory for singular integral and convolution operators, estimates for singular integral operators on Carleson curves acting in Lp spaces with variable exponents, the finite section method for band-dominated and Toeplitz operators, SzegA-type theorems, and the averaging method for nonlinear equations. The book testifies to the wide mathematical interest of I. B. Simonenko and includes a biography, his list of publications and a list of his Ph.D. students.

In September 2000 a Summer School on "Factorization and Integrable Systems" was held at the University of Algarve in Portugal. The main aim of the school was to review the modern factorization theory and its application to classical and quantum integrable systems. The program consisted of a number of short courses given by leading experts in the field. The lecture notes of the courses have been specially prepared for publication in this volume.
The book consists of four contributions. I. Gohberg, M.A. Kaashoek and I.M. Spitkovsky present an extensive review of the factorization theory of matrix functions relative to a curve, with emphasis on the developments of the last 20-25 years. The group-theoretical approach to classical integrable systems is reviewed by M.A. Semenov-Tian-Shansky. P.P. Kulish surveyed the quantum inverse scattering method using the isotropic Heisenberg spin chain as the main example.

This volume is dedicated to Tsuyoshi Ando, a- foremost expert in operator theory, matrix theory, complex analysis, and their applications, on the occasion of his 60th birthday. The book opens with his biography and list of publications. It contains a selection of papers covering a broad spectrum of topics ranging from abstract operator theory to various concrete problems and applications. The majority of the papers deal with topics in modern operator theory and its applications. This volume also contains papers on interpolation and completion problems, factorisation problems and problems connected with complex analysis. The book will appeal to a wide audience of pure and applied mathematicians.

This volume is devoted to the life and work of the applied mathematician Professor Erhard Meister (1930-2001). He was a member of the editorial boards of this book series Operator The ory: Advances and Applications as well as of the journal Integral Equations and Operator Theory, both published by Birkhauser (now part of Springer-Verlag). Moreover he played a decisive role in the foundation of these two series by helping to establish contacts between Birkhauser and the founder and present chief editor of this book series after his emigration from Moldavia in 1974. The volume is divided into two parts. Part A contains reminiscences about the life of E. Meister including a short biography and an exposition of his professional work. Part B displays the wide range of his scientific interests through eighteen original papers contributed by authors with close scientific and personal relations to E. Meister. We hope that a great part of the numerous features of his life and work can be re-discovered from this book."