One service mathematics has rendered the 'Et moi, ... si j'avait su comment en revenir, human race. It has put common sense back je n'y serais point aIle.' Jules Verne where it belongs, on the topmost shelf next to the dusty canister labelled 'discarded non sense'. The series is divergent; thererore we may be able to do something with it. Eric T. Bell O. Heaviside Mathematics is a tool for thought. A highly necessary tool in a world where both feedback and non Iinearities abound. Similarly, all kinds of parts of mathematics serve as tools for other parts and for other sciences. Applying a simple rewriting rule to the quote on the right above one finds such statements as: 'One service topology has rendered mathematical physics .. .'; 'One service logic has rendered com puter science .. .'; 'One service category theory has rendered mathematics .. .'. All arguably true. And all statements obtainable this way form part of the raison d'etre of this series."

This volume deals with the analysis of nonlinear evolution problems described by partial differential equations having random or stochastic parameters. The emphasis throughout is on the actual determination of solutions, rather than on proving the existence of solutions, although mathematical proofs are given when this is necessary from an applications point of view. The content is divided into six chapters. Chapter 1 gives a general presentation of mathematical models in continuum mechanics and a description of the way in which problems are formulated. Chapter 2 deals with the problem of the evolution of an unconstrained system having random space-dependent initial conditions, but which is governed by a deterministic evolution equation. Chapter 3 deals with the initial-boundary value problem for equations with random initial and boundary conditions as well as with random parameters where the randomness is modelled by stochastic separable processes. Chapter 4 is devoted to the initial-boundary value problem for models with additional noise, which obey Ito-type partial differential equations. Chapter 5 is essential devoted to the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the chaotic behaviour of systems in continuum physics. Chapter 6 provides indications on the solution of ill-posed and inverse problems of stochastic type and suggests guidelines for future research. The volume concludes with an Appendix which gives a brief presentation of the theory of stochastic processes. Examples, applications and case studies are given throughout the book and range from those involving simple stochasticity to stochastic illposed problems. For applied mathematicians, engineers and physicists whosework involves solving stochastic problems.