This award is for partial funding for a Mathematics conference, the Great Plains Operator Theory Symposium [GPOTS], to be held at Texas A&M University on the dates May 26-30, 2004. GPOTS is an annual conference (24 years old) that is hosted every year in May at a different university. Although the name is of a "regional" character, it has evolved into a conference of a true international scope. Texas A&M University has agreed to provide the needed facilities, and local funding will cover the expenses of the plenary speakers. Local arrangements for lecture rooms and housing have already been made. The funding we seek from NSF will be used specifically to provide partial support for the other participants, with emphasis on postdocs, graduate students, and younger faculty who are doing excellent research but may not have current grants. The plenary speakers will be world-class researchers and expositors whose lectures emphasize break-through areas and applications of interest to the participants. Eight plenary speakers have already accepted our invitation to speak. Many of the regular participants will give shorter talks, including a number of graduate students currently working on their doctorates. We expect between 100 and 150 participants. The seven members of the GPOTS- 2004 local organizing committee at Texas A&M University are: Ronald Douglas, Kenneth Dykema, David Larson, Carl Pearcy, Gilles Pisier, Roger Smith, and Nico Spronk.
