Operator theory and analysis

On November 12-14, 1997, a workshop was held at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam to celebrate M. A. Kaashoek's sixtieth birthday. The proceedings of this event are compiled in the present volume, which features contributions from 44 participants from various countries, including Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, South Africa, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the USA. The workshop fostered a warm and friendly atmosphere, highlighted by 21 plenary lectures followed by engaging discussions. Support for the workshop came from several institutions, including the Vakgroep Wiskunde and the department of Mathematics and Computer Science at the Vrije Universiteit, the Stichting VU Computer Science & Mathematics Research Centre, the Thomas Stieltjes Institute for Mathematics, and the department of Economics at Erasmus University Rotterdam. The organizers express their gratitude for this support, which contributed significantly to the workshop's success. The volume includes a preface, a photograph of M. A. Kaashoek, his curriculum vitae, a list of his publications, and various addresses and reminiscences from participants, alongside detailed discussions on spectral components of selfadjoint operator matrices.