The calculus of variations is a classical area of mathematical analysis-300 years old-yet its myriad applications in science and technology continue to hold great interest and keep it an active area of research. These two volumes contain the refereed proceedings of the international conference on Calculus of Variations and Related Topics held at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in March 1998. The conference commemorated 300 years of work in the field and brought together many of its leading experts.The papers in the first volume focus on critical point theory and differential equations. The other volume deals with variational aspects of optimal control. Together they provide a unique opportunity to review the state-of-the-art of the calculus of variations, as presented by an international panel of masters in the field.