Applications of computer algebra

Today, certain computer software systems exist which surpass the computational ability of researchers when their mathematical techniques are applied to many areas of science and engineering. These computer systems can perform a large portion of the calculations seen in mathematical analysis. Despite this massive power, thousands of people use these systems as a routine resource for everyday calculations. These software programs are commonly called "Computer Algebra" systems. They have names such as MACSYMA, MAPLE, muMATH, REDUCE and SMP. They are receiving credit as a computational aid with in­ creasing regularity in articles in the scientific and engineering literature. When most people think about computers and scientific research these days, they imagine a machine grinding away, processing numbers arithmetically. It is not generally realized that, for a number of years, computers have been performing non-numeric computations. This means, for example, that one inputs an equa­ tion and obtains a closed form analytic answer. It is these Computer Algebra systems, their capabilities, and applications which are the subject of the papers in this volume.