This volume is the proceedings of a conference on Finite Geometries, Groups, and Computation that took place on September 4-9, 2004, at Pingree Park, Colorado (a campus of Colorado State University). Not accidentally, the conference coincided with the 60th birthday of William Kantor, and the topics relate to his major research areas. Participants were encouraged to explore the deeper interplay between these fields. The survey papers by Kantor, O'Brien, and Penttila should serve to introduce both students and the broader mathematical community to these important topics and some of their connections while the volume as a whole gives an overview of current developments in these fields.

Projective geometry is the geometry of vision, and this book introduces students to this beautiful subject from an analytic perspective, emphasising its close relationship with linear algebra and the central role of symmetry. Starting with elementary and familiar geometry over real numbers, readers will soon build upon that knowledge via geometric pathways and journey on to deep and interesting corners of the subject. Through a projective approach to geometry, readers will discover connections between seemingly distant (and ancient) results in Euclidean geometry. By mixing recent results from the past 100 years with the history of the field, this text is one of the most comprehensive surveys of the subject and an invaluable reference for undergraduate and beginning graduate students learning classic geometry, as well as young researchers in computer graphics. Students will also appreciate the worked examples and diagrams throughout.