During the week of October 5-9, 2001, the international research conference "TRENDS IN BANACH SPACES and OPERATOR THEORY" was held on the campus of the University of Memphis. The conference was initiated and organized by professors Jim Jamison, Anna Kami ska, and Pei-Kee Lin from our department, along with Przemo Kranz from The University of Mississippi. Dr. Ray Clapsadle, a departmental colleague, joined the organizing team as website, logo, and T-shirt designer. The conference logo (see above) featured the most mathematical of local symbols, the Memphis pyramid, and pictures of the two founders of the fields of research represented at the conference, David Hilbert and Stefan Banach (unfortunately, both long dead).

All lectures were hold in Dunn Hall and the Psychology Auditorium. Snacks and drinks were provided in the passage adjacent to the auditorium, which became the most popular place for socializing. One could easily overhear friendly mathematics discussions, gossip, laughter, and sincere opinions about ongoing lectures and professional friends. Here, staff members, colleagues, and graduate students from the math department worked diligently, helping with registration and accommodations.

On the third day of the conference a panel discussion was held about the current state and future trends in the field of Modern Mathematical Analysis with emphasis on Operator Theory and Banach Spaces. Moderated by professor Sheldon Axler from San Francisco University, it is fair to say that during the session, in non-typical fashion (for mathematics conferences), the discussion was spirited, bordering on rowdy, and many of the speakers from both the panel and the audience emphasized multiple applications of this traditionally "pure" mathematical theory. There was a strong emphasis on the constant interplay between theory and applications, and on the idea that this interplay has a real creative power. Some speakers, however, were skeptical about the future of pure mathematics in the era of a computerized world. Overall, the discussion covered not only the current status of the field, but also pointed toward multiple possibilities for future development of both the theory and the theory's practical application.

The theories of Banach Spaces and Linear Operators are intimately related, and they lie at the core of applications in such diverse fields as Differential Equations, Dynamical Systems, Financial Mathematics, and many other fields in mathematics. In the last decade, some important problems that lay open in these theories have been solved. The International Congress of Mathematicians recognized these advances by awarding a Fields Medal to Timothy Gowers in 1998 because he solved one of the single most fundamental problems in the field. Two of the conference principal speakers contributed substantially to this solution - professors Nicole Tomczak- Jaegermann from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, and Berthold Schlumprecht from Texas A&M University in College Station, TX.

During this conference, a real effort was made to gather mathematicians who represented the entire spectrum of researchers, including both the experienced specialists and the young mathematicians at the early stages of their research programs. Organizers are especially proud that so many young and talented adepts in this field of Mathematics attended the meeting. Beyond benefiting this particular research field and the academic and university environment in the mid-South region in general, the conference helped contribute to the development of a number of specific Mathematics programs in the area, including the programs at the University of Memphis, UT at Knoxville, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State.

An odd side benefit of the conference was the cultural impact on the Memphis community itself. During the off-times of the conference, downtown Memphis was often full of mathematicians having mathematical discussions, often in different languages, with odd accents. In addition, conference guests had opportunities to visit historical places, to see the Mississippi River, and to listen to "the blues" and other types of mid-south music in all of Memphis's local clubs and bars. Overall, the conference contributed not only to the advances in a specific field of mathematics, but also to a larger acceptance of Memphis as a singular source of learning and culture in the United States.

Photos and information about the conference are available on the web site http://www.msci.memphis.edu/atnd_tlk.html.