Trends in Partial Differential Equations of Mathematical Physics

Vsevolod Alekseevich Solonnikov is known as one of the outstanding mathema- ciansfromtheSt.PetersburgMathematicalSchool.Hisremarkableresultsonexact estimates of solutions to boundary and initial-boundary value problems for linear elliptic, parabolic, and Stokes systems, his methods and contributions to the - vestigation of free boundary problems, in particular in ?uid mechanics, are well known to specialists all over the world. The International Conference on Trends in Partial Di'erential Equations of th Mathematical Physics was held on the occasion of his 70 birthday in Obidos (Portugal), from June 7 to 10, 2003. It was an organization of the Centro de Matem atica e Aplica, c oes Fundamentais da Universidade Lisboa, in collaboration with the Centro de Matem atica da Universidade de Coimbra, the Centro de Matem atica Aplicada do IST/Universidade T ecnica de Lisboa, the Centro de Matem atica da Universidade da Beira Interior, from Portugal, and with the L- oratory of Mathematical Physics of the St.Petersburg Department of the Steklov Institute of Mathematics from Russia. The conference consisted of thirty eight invited and contributed lectures and gathered, inthecharminganduniquemedievaltownofObidos, aboutsixtypart- ipants from ?fteen countries, namely USA, Switzerland, Spain, Russia, Portugal, Poland, Lithuania, Korea, Japan, Italy, Germany, France, Canada, Australia and Argentina.Severalcolleaguesgaveusahelpinghandintheorganizationofthec- ference. We are thankful to all of them, and in particular to Stanislav Antontsev, Anvarbek Meirmanov and Ad elia Sequeira, that integrated also the Organizing Committee. A special acknowledgement is due to Elena Frolova that helped us in compiling the short and necessarily incomplete bio-bibliographical notes below."