NA Digest   Sunday, March 5, 1989   Volume 89 : Issue 9
Today's Editor: Cleve Moler
Today's Topics:
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From: David Griffiths <MA37%primea.dundee.ac.uk@nss.cs.ucl.ac.uk>
Date: Mon, 27 Feb 89 08:46:41    
Subject: NA and Applied Math positions at Dundee
                    UNIVERSITY OF DUNDEE
              New Academic Appointments Scheme
                      Lectureships in
                    Applied Mathematics
                            and
                     Numerical Analysis
     Applications are invited for the above posts from  can-
didates  qualified  and  keen  to  contribute to research in
Applied  Mathematics,   Applied   Analysis   and   Numerical
Analysis.
     Although the posts are to be financed under  the  UGC's
"New Academic Appointments Scheme", it is intended that they
should be fully established and that the  appointees  should
become  permanent members of the academic staff.  The salary
initially attached  to  the  appointments  will  be  at  the
appropriate  point  on  the Lecturer Grade A Scale (#9,260 -
#14,500) or Grade B Scale (#15,105 - #19,310) determined  by
qualifications and experience.
     Applications with curriculum vitae  (6  copies  or,  if
posted  overseas,  one  copy in a format suitable for photo-
copying) and the  names  and  addresses  of  three  referees
should be lodged with the
                     Personnel Officer
                      The University
                      Dundee, DDl 4HN
                          Scotland
by 31 March 1989.  Please quote  EST/6/89  for  the  Applied
Mathematics  post  and  EST/7/89  for the Numerical Analysis
post.
Further details are available on e-mail by sending to
 na.griffiths@na-net.stanford.edu .
------------------------------
From: Alan J. Laub <laub%lanczos@hub.ucsb.edu>
Date: Sat, 25 Feb 89 14:49:02 PST
Subject: Conference on Aerospace Computational Control
                ANNOUNCEMENT AND CALL FOR PAPERS
    3RD ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON AEROSPACE COMPUTATIONAL CONTROL
RADISSON SUITE HOTEL    AUGUST 28-30, 1989     OXNARD, CALIFORNIA
This conference is a sequel to  the  effort  begun  at  the  1987
Workshop  on  Multibody  Simulation,  and  continued  at the 1988
Workshop on Computational Aspects in the Control of Flexible Sys-
tems.   It is intended to bring together researchers, developers,
and users of computational tools for  aerospace  control  systems
modeling, design, and simulation.  There has been an explosion of
new computational hardware and software  technologies  in  recent
years.   These advances have the potential to improve greatly the
performance of computational  control  software  tools.   Current
computational  control tools are marginal for some of today's ap-
plications and will not be able to support many future  NASA  and
DoD missions.  As a consequence, the control and dynamics commun-
ities have become active in exploring these possibilities.
The Conference will:  1) provide a window into  current  computa-
tional  control research and development, 2) allow researchers to
exchange ideas and experience on the correctness, efficiency, and
usability  of current computational tools, and 3) identify impor-
tant unsolved problems and technology gaps  which  can  be  dealt
with by Government, Industry, and University combined efforts.
Conference organizing committee:
Dr. G.K. Man (NASA/JPL), Dr. Larry Taylor (NASA/LaRC),  Mr.  John
DiBattista  (NASA  HQ),  Dr.  Elbert Marsh (NSF), and Major Terry
Hinnericks (DoD)
                             TOPICS
Papers are being accepted on all aspects of computational control
tools and methods:
Tool Requirements (requirements for future tools in the areas  of
spacecraft,  space  robotics,  aircraft, and space transportation
systems)
Multibody Simulation Formulation (recursive algorithms,  symbolic
manipulation, closed topology and constraints)
Articulated  Multibody  Component  Representation  (system  model
reduction, component model reduction, modal synthesis, damping)
Parallel Computation  (coarse-grain  parallelization,  fine-grain
parallelization, hardware, software)
Real-Time  Simulation  (hardware-in-the-loop,  human-in-the-loop,
hardware/software interface)
Control Software (analysis software,  synthesis  software,  algo-
rithms  for  large-order  systems,  numerical  properties,  model
reduction)
User Interface (database  management,  visualization  techniques,
integration)
Applications (spacecraft, space robotics, aircraft,  space  tran-
sportation systems)
Testing and Verification (reference test  cases,  ground  experi-
ments, flight experiments)
PRE-REGISTRATION
All attendees are required  to  register  in  advance.   To  pre-
register, please request a registration form from:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Attn:  Ray Miller, M/S 198-326
4800 Oak Grove
Pasadena, CA 91109
phone: (818) 354-4734
The registration fee of $150.00 will cover a set of  Proceedings,
paper  abstracts,  refreshments, and a buffet banquet the evening
of 29 August.  A $75.00 registration fee is  available  to  full-
time students (fee does not include banquet).
ACCOMMODATIONS
Blocks of rooms have been reserved for the conference at the fol-
lowing hotels:
Radisson Suite Hotel ((805) 988-0130)
Studio Suite: $67.00 single/double
2 Story Loft Suite:  $77.00 single/double
Casa Sirena ((805) 985-6311)
$65.00 single/double (approximately 5 miles from conference site)
Oxnard Hilton ((800) 445-8667)
$57.00 single/double (approximately 3 miles from conference site)
Camarillo Motel 6 ((805) 388-3467)
$28.29 single, $35.92 double (15 minute drive from conference site)
The cutoff date for reservations at  these  hotels  is  11  June,
1989.  After that date, rooms will be on an "as available" basis.
All participants are responsible for their own  lodging  reserva-
tions, and should contact their hotel of choice directly.
TRANSPORTATION
The Oxnard area is served by four airports:  Los Angeles Interna-
tional  (LAX), Burbank, Oxnard, and Santa Barbara.  Various forms
of ground  transportation  are  available  from  these  airports.
Further information will be sent with registration.
DEADLINES AND ABSTRACT INSTRUCTIONS
Conference attendance will be limited; therefore, all  "registra-
tion forms" are due no later than 15 April, 1989.
All abstracts are due no later than 15  April,  1989.   Abstracts
should  be  between 100 and 150 words in length.  Accepted papers
must be provided in vugraph and facing text format no later  than
1  August, 1989.  A package detailing specifics on paper prepara-
tion will be forwarded to authors whose papers are selected.
INQUIRIES
Questions concerning registration or general  administrative  de-
tails should be addressed to Mr. Ray Miller, (818) 354-4734.
Questions concerning technical sessions and papers should be  ad-
dressed to Dr. G.K. Man, (818) 354-7142.  E-mail inquiries can be
directed to Prof. Alan J. Laub ( laub%lanczos@hub.ucsb.edu ).
------------------------------
From: Scott Lamson <steinmetz!vdsvax!lamson@itsgw.rpi.edu>
Date: 27 Feb 89 22:12:00 GMT
Subject: Bezier Curve Fit
I am looking for an algorithm for fitting a 2D curve specified by a
sequence of 2D (x,y) coordinates with a Bezier curve defined by a
minimum number of control points.  The Bezier curve should fall within
some numerical tolerance of the (x,y) set of points.  The number of
control points should be as low as possible, but needn't be an
absolute minimum.  A reasonable test would be to evaluate an N point
Bezier curve at M points (M>>N).  Then try to reconstruct the N
control points given only the M (x,y) coordinates.  
Thanks in advance.
        Scott|  ARPA:      lamson@ge-crd.arpa
       Lamson|  UUCP:      uunet!steinmetz!sierra!lamson
(518)387-5795|  UUCP:      uunet!steinmetz!lamson!crd
------------------------------
From: J. Modi <JM18%phoenix.cambridge.ac.uk@nss.cs.ucl.ac.uk>
Date: Tue, 28 Feb 89 22:00:47 GMT
Subject: Research Associate at Manchester
        University of Manchester
     Department of Computer science
RESEARCH ASSOCIATE POSTS
Title of the project:  Mapping Problem Classes onto Parallel Computing Systems
In this project funded by SERC we will be developing taxonomies of computational
models, and will  to answer the question: what is the best type of computational
model for a given class of problems!
An application oriented research assistant with background in
linear algebra, and an applicant with background in parallel
architectures are required.
The appointees will be encouraged to pursue their own research as well.
The appointment will be for 3 years on a RA1A scale ( $9865-$15720) starting as soon as possible.
Please send letters of application to Dr J. Modi at Computer Science Dept.,
University of Manchester,Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, ENGLAND,as soon as possible.
------------------------------
From: Roland Sweet <rsweet%copper@boulder.Colorado.EDU>
Date: Wed, 1 Mar 89 16:19:11 mst
Subject: Information Requested on "PC Micro-Dif"
Cc: rsweet%copper@boulder.Colorado.EDU
Status: R
I just received an advertisement for a differential equations tutor software
package called "PC Micro-Dif" produced by WKM Associates.  Has anyone had any
experience with this package or does anyone know of an existing review of it?
Thanks, Roland Sweet
na.rsweet... or 
rsweet.cudenver.bitnet
------------------------------
From: Joe Traub <traub@cs.columbia.edu>
Date: Thu, 2 Mar 1989 18:11:55 EST
Subject: Final Program-Complexity Symposium
    THIRD SYMPOSIUM ON COMPLEXITY OF APPROXIMATELY SOLVED PROBLEMS
		     COMPUTER SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
			 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
			   April 3-5, 1989
SUPPORT:  This Symposium is supported by a grant from the National
Science Foundation.
REGISTRATION: The symposium will be held at the Kellogg Conference
Center, on the fifteenth floor of the International Affairs Building,
Columbia University, 118th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.  Registration
will start at 9:00 a.m.  THERE IS NO REGISTRATION CHARGE.
PUBLICATION:  Invited papers will be published in the Journal of Complexity.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: If you have any questions, contact Kerny
McLaughlin, Computer Science Department, Columbia University, (212)
854-2736.
				   
There will be two hour-long plenary lectures and thirty-four invited
papers as well as contributed papers.
			   PLENARY LECTURES
			MONDAY, APRIL 3, 1989
Steven Smale, "Godel, undecidability, chaos"
Leon N. Cooper, "Neural networks in real world applications"
Z. Galil, J. Tsitsiklis, H. Wozniakowski, D. Lee, G. Wahba, D. Donoho,
L. Cooper, Y. Abu-Mostafa, E. Baum, G.W. Wasilkowski, D. Saari, A. Werschulz
			TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 1989
S. Heinrich, K. Sikorski, L. Blum, L. Levin, B. Kacewicz, J.M. Steele,
I. Johnstone, J. Kuczynski, T. Boult, Y. Yomdin, L. Plaskota
		       WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5, 1989
F. Gao, M. Milanese, M. Kowalski, U. Vazirani, M. Shub, E. Kalai, M. Kon,
E. Novak, P. Tiwari, A. Sukharev, J. Renegar, A. Bojanczyk
------------------------------
From: Brynjolfur Thorsson <mcvax!hafro!krafla!binni@uunet.uu.net>
Date: 3 Mar 89 09:59:53 GMT
Subject: Fitting of Data Using Two Exponentials
For the last month or so I have been searching for some method that
fits data using two unrelated exponents, i.e. 
f(x)=a0*exp(b0*x)+a1*exp(b1*x).
I have found a method, that is supposed to work for x=x0+i*dx, but my
data is not equispaced.  I know that I can make my data equispaced, using
splines, but I am afraid that I may loose accuracy.  If someone knows a
solution to my problem and is willing to mail it to me I would be grateful.
Brynjolfur Thorsson   binni@rhi.hi.is
University of Iceland
------------------------------
From: T. R. Hopkins <trh%ukc.ac.uk@nss.cs.ucl.ac.uk>
Date: Sat, 4 Mar 89 21:24:02 GMT
Subject: NAG Users Digest Info
         NAGMAG - An Electronic Mail Digest for Users of NAG products
At the recent NAGUA meeting in Brest interest was expressed in setting up an
informal electronic mail digest for the discussion of any aspects of
NAG services.
The aim of this digest is to provide a forum for anyone using any NAG
products to seek advice, discuss problems, complain, report bugs, suggest
improvements and extensions to services or anything else they feel is
relevant.
The success of such a digest is totally dependent on its subscribers, we
would hope to send out issues  at  weekly intervals to ensure
a reasonable response to queries.  Obviously the frequency could be
increased if the volume of traffic warranted it.
If you wish to subscribe to NAGMAG mail
nagmag-request@uk.ac.ukc     (Janet)
nagmag-request@ukc.ac.uk   (Arpanet)
giving your name, address and e-mail address.  Failing the above routes
send the same information either snail mail to
 Tim Hopkins 
 Computing Laboratory 
 University of Kent at Canterbury 
 Canterbury 
 Kent  CT2 7NF 
 U.K.
or via FAX to +44 227 762811
when we will do our best to sort out a path to you.
Anyone wishing to send articles for inclusion
in the digest mail  nagmag   via any of the above routes.
Tim Hopkins
------------------------------
End of NA Digest
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