The present volume is a collective monograph devoted to applications of the optimal design theory in optimization and statistics. The chapters re?ect the topics discussed at the workshop "W-Optimum Design and Related Statistical Issues" that took place in Juan-les-Pins, France, in May 2005. The title of the workshop was chosen as a light-hearted celebration of the work of Henry Wynn. It was supported by the Laboratoire I3S (CNRS/Universit e de Nice, Sophia Antipolis), to which Henry is a frequent visitor. The topics covered partly re?ect the wide spectrum of Henry's research - terests. Algorithms for constructing optimal designs are discussed in Chap. 1, where Henry's contribution to the ?eld is acknowledged. Steepest-ascent - gorithms used to construct optimal designs are very much related to general gradientalgorithmsforconvexoptimization. Inthelasttenyears, asigni?cant part of Henry's research was devoted to the study of the asymptotic prop- ties of such algorithms. This topic is covered by Chaps. 2 and 3. The work by Alessandra Giovagnoli concentrates on the use of majorization and stoch- tic ordering, and Chap. 4 is a hopeful renewal of their collaboration. One of Henry's major recent interests is what is now called algebraic statistics, the application of computational commutative algebra to statistics, and he was partly responsible for introducing the experimental design sub-area, reviewed in Chap. 5. One other sub-area is the application to Bayesian networks and Chap. 6 covers this, with Chap. 7 being strongly related."

Design of Experiments in Nonlinear Models: Asymptotic Normality, Optimality Criteria and Small-Sample Properties provides a comprehensive coverage of the various aspects of experimental design for nonlinear models. The book contains original contributions to the theory of optimal experiments that will interest students and researchers in the field. Practitionners motivated by applications will find valuable tools to help them designing their experiments. The first three chapters expose the connections between the asymptotic properties of estimators in parametric models and experimental design, with more emphasis than usual on some particular aspects like the estimation of a nonlinear function of the model parameters, models with heteroscedastic errors, etc. Classical optimality criteria based on those asymptotic properties are then presented thoroughly in a special chapter. Three chapters are dedicated to specific issues raised by nonlinear models. The construction of design criteria derived from non-asymptotic considerations (small-sample situation) is detailed. The connection between design and identifiability/estimability issues is investigated. Several approaches are presented to face the problem caused by the dependence of an optimal design on the value of the parameters to be estimated. A survey of algorithmic methods for the construction of optimal designs is provided.

The present volume is a collective monograph devoted to applications of the optimal design theory in optimization and statistics. The chapters re?ect the topics discussed at the workshop "W-Optimum Design and Related Statistical Issues" that took place in Juan-les-Pins, France, in May 2005. The title of the workshop was chosen as a light-hearted celebration of the work of Henry Wynn. It was supported by the Laboratoire I3S (CNRS/Universit e de Nice, Sophia Antipolis), to which Henry is a frequent visitor. The topics covered partly re?ect the wide spectrum of Henry's research - terests. Algorithms for constructing optimal designs are discussed in Chap. 1, where Henry's contribution to the ?eld is acknowledged. Steepest-ascent - gorithms used to construct optimal designs are very much related to general gradientalgorithmsforconvexoptimization. Inthelasttenyears, asigni?cant part of Henry's research was devoted to the study of the asymptotic prop- ties of such algorithms. This topic is covered by Chaps. 2 and 3. The work by Alessandra Giovagnoli concentrates on the use of majorization and stoch- tic ordering, and Chap. 4 is a hopeful renewal of their collaboration. One of Henry's major recent interests is what is now called algebraic statistics, the application of computational commutative algebra to statistics, and he was partly responsible for introducing the experimental design sub-area, reviewed in Chap. 5. One other sub-area is the application to Bayesian networks and Chap. 6 covers this, with Chap. 7 being strongly related."

This volume contains the majority of the papers presented at the 5th Inter national Workshop on Model-Oriented Data Analysis held in June 1998. This series started in March 1987 with a meeting on the Wartburg, Eisenach (Germany). The next three meetings were in 1990 (St Kyrik monastery, Bulgaria), 1992 (Petrodvorets, StPetersburg, Russia) and 1995 (Spetses, Greece). The main purpose of these workshops was to bring together lead ing scientists from 'Eastern' and 'Western' Europe for the exchange of ideas in theoretical and applied statistics, with special emphasis on experimen tal design. Now that the separation between East and West has become less rigid, this dialogue has, in principle, become much easier. However, providing opportunities for this dialogue is as vital as ever. MODA meetings are known for their friendly atmosphere, leading to fruitful discussions and collaboration, especially between young and senior scien tists. Indeed, many long term collaborations were initiated during these events. This intellectually stimulating atmosphere is achieved by limiting the number of participants to around eighty, by the choice of location so that participants can live as a community, and, of course, through the care ful selection of scientific direction made by the Programme Committee."

The identification of parametric models from experimental data is a fundamental activity among researchers and engineers in pure and applied sciences. This work addresses the topic by examining, among others, the following areas:

a [ choice of an appropriate model structure which allows the estimation of all parameters;

a [ choice of a quality criterion for rating models;

a [ incorporation of prior knowledge and objectives and guarding against possible outliers;

a [ optimization of the selected criterion and simple yet exact evaluation of characteristics;

a [ evaluation of uncertainty in estimated parameters;

a [ design of experimental conditions for the collection of the most pertinent information given prior constraints and objectives.

Identification of Parametric Models deals with these questions in a straightforward style while providing a global vision of the methodology.

Suitable for engineers and researchers who practise mathematical modelling from experimental data, graduate students who wish to become acquainted with the field, this text will also be a valuable resource for specialists in the field.