This IMA Volume in Mathematics and its Applications RECENT ADVANCES IN ITERATIVE METHODS is based on the proceedings of a workshop that was an integral part of the 1991-92 IMA program on "Applied Linear Algebra. " Large systems of matrix equations arise frequently in applications and they have the prop­ erty that they are sparse and/or structured. The purpose of this workshop was to bring together researchers in numerical analysis and various ap­ plication areas to discuss where such problems arise and possible meth­ ods of solution. The last two days of the meeting were a celebration dedicated to Gene Golub on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday, with the program arranged by Jack Dongarra and Paul van Dooren. We are grateful to Richard Brualdi, George Cybenko, Alan George, Gene Golub, Mitchell Luskin, and Paul Van Dooren for planning and implementing the year-long program. We especially thank Gene Golub, Anne Greenbaum, and Mitchell Luskin for organizing this workshop and editing the proceed­ ings. The financial support of the National Science Foundation and the Min­ nesota Supercomputer Institute made the workshop possible. A vner Friedman Willard Miller, Jr. xi PREFACE The solution of very large linear algebra problems is an integral part of many scientific computations.