Preface JIM BYRNES The chapters in this volume were presented at the July 2003NATO Advanced Study Institute on Computational Noncommutative Algebra and Applications. The conference was held at the beautiful Il Ciocco - sort near Lucca, in the glorious Tuscany region of northern Italy. Once again we gathered at this idyllic spot to explore and extend the re- procity between mathematics and engineering. The dynamic interaction between world-renowned scientists from the usually disparate com- nities of pure mathematicians and applied scientists, which occurred at our 1989, 1991, 1992, 1998, and 2000 ASI's, continued at this meeting. The fusion of algebra, analysis and geometry, and their application to real world problems, have been dominant themes underlying mat- matics for over a century. Geometric algebras, introduced and classi?ed by Cli?ord in the late 19th century, have played a prominent role in this e?ort, as seen in the mathematical work of Cartan, Brauer, Weyl, Chevelley, Atiyah, and Bott, and in applications to physics in the work of Pauli, Dirac and others.
One of the most important applications of geometric algebras to geometry is to the representation of groups of - clidean and Minkowski rotations. This aspect and its direct relation to robotics and vision were discussed by several of the Principal Lecturers, and are covered in this book.