NUMERICAL ANALYSIS, LINEAR ALGEBRA AND COMPUTATIONS A Celebration of the 90th Birthday of John Todd California Institute of Technology Pasadena, California May 16-17, 2001

We are pleased to announce that a conference will be held at the California Institute of Technology, May 16-17, 2001, to honor John Todd, Emeritus Professor of Mathematics, on the occasion of his 90th birthday, May 16, 2001. John Todd is one of the pioneers in numerical analysis, and his scientific contributions extend to analysis, linear algebra and computation. He has inspired many students at the California Institute of Technology, as well as colleagues and friends around the world, and we hope that many will attend this 90th milestone in his life. As the title of this conference suggests, we plan to include discussions on the past, present, and future of numerical analysis, linear algebra, and computation. We also plan to have John Todd give his views on these topics, collected over 50 years of service to these areas. One interesting facet of his life is that he is called the "Savior of Oberwolfach"; he and another British officer were, late in World War II, the first to occupy (and claim for the British Navy!) the buildings of the Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut in Oberwolfach, a small town in the Black Forest of Germany. Their "occupation" saved this institute from being destroyed!

The Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut survived, and to this day, it continues to have conferences on diverse topics in mathematics. Many, from around the world, have attended conferences in Oberwolfach, and have enjoyed the isolated and pristine surroundings of the Black Forest. In 1949, John Todd became Chief of the Computation Laboratory, which operated the National Bureau of Standards' Standards Eastern Automatic Computer (SEAC). Dedicated in 1950, SEAC was one of the first operational digital computers in the United States. He then served as Chief of the Numerical Analysis Section of the National Bureau of Standards from 1954 to 1957. He moved to the California Institute of Technology in 1957 as a Professor of Mathematics. He was married to the late Olga Taussky, a pioneer in linear algebra, and many of his research papers were also in this area, often jointly with his wife. Caltech graduates should note that many class reunions will be held May 17 and 18 (see alumni reunions) and the annual Seminar Day will be May 19 (see alumni seminar day). For further information such as speakers, program, registration, hotel, and travel information, please follow the links on the left menu on the conference's main web page.

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