The theory of nonlinear wave equations has long played a prominent role in physics and applied mathematics, for instance in theories of gases and liquids, in the theory of elementary particles, and in cosmology. Their mathematical study goes back to Riemann, but methods of analysis were not sufficiently developed for a systematic study until the 1960's. In this decade there were several major breakthroughs, including the beginnings of theories of global existence, blow up, solitons, scattering, the inverse scattering method, and shock waves. The subject has continued to undergo rapid change. Major developments in the 1980's have included the study of important special systems like the Minkowski-Yang-Mills equations and the Vlasov-Maxwell equations, the development of a stability theory of solitary waves, and general results on solutions of small amplitude and on the propagation of weak singularities. This conference will be devoted to nonlinear wave equations. Walter A. Strauss, one of the principal architects of the subject, will be the main speaker and will deliver a series of ten lectures.
