NONLINEAR COMPUTATION

Nonlinear Computation will provide a framework for the computational s cience and engineering of the future. Topics such as bifurcation and c haos, and methods such as continuation and blanch switching, and featu res such as stability and sensitivity are basic ingredients in the att empt to understand our world. Nonlinear Computation is indispensable w hen we try to predict and simulate the dynamics of states in the biolo gical systems we consist of, in the ecological and economical systems we live in, and in the technical systems we make use of. This paper es sentially consists of three parts. The first part (Section 1) explains what nonlinear computation means. The second part (Sections 2-5) pres ents a survey on nonlinear phenomena, and on the methods of nonlinear computation. The final part (Sections 6 and 7) will speculate on visio ns and trends for the next decades. (C) 1997 The Franklin Institute. P ublished by Elsevier Science Ltd.