The ?eld of applied nonlinear dynamics has attracted scientists and
engineers across many different disciplines to develop innovative ideas
and methods to study c- plex behavior exhibited by relatively simple
systems. Examples include: population dynamics, ?uidization processes,
applied optics, stochastic resonance, ?ocking and ?ightformations,
lasers, andmechanicalandelectricaloscillators. Acommontheme among these
and many other examples is the underlying universal laws of nonl- ear
science that govern the behavior, in space and time, of a given system.
These laws are universal in the sense that they transcend the
model-speci?c features of a system and so they can be readily applied to
explain and predict the behavior of a wide ranging phenomena, natural
and arti?cial ones. Thus the emphasis in the past decades has been in
explaining nonlinear phenomena with signi?cantly less att- tion paid to
exploiting the rich behavior of nonlinear systems to design and
fabricate new devices that can operate more ef?ciently. Recently, there
has been a series of meetings on topics such as Experimental Chaos,
Neural Coding, and Stochastic Resonance, which have brought together
many researchers in the ?eld of nonlinear dynamics to discuss, mainly,
theoretical ideas that may have the potential for further
implementation. In contrast, the goal of the 2007 ICAND (International
Conference on Applied Nonlinear Dynamics) was focused more sharply on
the implementation of theoretical ideas into actual - vices and system
