Banach space theory is a basic tool of mathematical analysis that has been of importance since its inception at the turn of the century. In recent years, there has been a rebirth of interaction with other aspects of mathematical analysis -- such as harmonic analysis and operator theory -- and probability theory. In particular, Banach space methods, in the hands of highly creative and powerful researchers, have led to fundamental breakthroughs in these other fields, and in turn probabilistic methods have enriched the structure theory of Banach spaces themselves. World centers of excellence in this area are in Israel, Paris, Warsaw, Ohio, and Texas. Professor Johnson is one of the leading figures in the United States and internationally in this area, and he heads a strong and productive team of researchers at Texas A & M. Professor Pisier, from Paris, joined this group last year. He is one of the truly outstanding mathematical analysts in the world with innumerable major results to his credit, and he is a world class probababilist as well. Pisier's work sets major directions for research in Banach space theory, harmonic analysis, and probability. The year long workshop at Texas A & M, held cooperatively with other strong researchers at Texas, brings together singly and collectively the most significant researchers in the field, all of whom have done fundamental work, to interact on problems of current concern, and to interact with young researchers in the field. Professors Johnson and Pisier will continue their deep and important investigations on a variety of aspects of Banach space theory; for example, local theory of function spaces, weak Hilbert spaces, Lipschitz theory, Banach lattices, probability theory, and spaces of operators. These researchers always obtain deep and fundamental results, and it is anticipated that this project will be no exception.
