Random matrices are widely and successfully used in physics for almost
60-70 years, beginning with the works of Dyson and Wigner. Although it
is an old subject, it is constantly developing into new areas of physics
and mathematics. It constitutes now a part of the general culture of a
theoretical physicist. Mathematical methods inspired by random matrix
theory become more powerful, sophisticated and enjoy rapidly growing
applications in physics. Recent examples include the calculation of
universal correlations in the mesoscopic system, new applications in
disordered and quantum chaotic systems, in combinatorial and growth
models, as well as the recent breakthrough, due to the matrix models, in
two dimensional gravity and string theory and the non-abelian gauge
theories. The book consists of the lectures of the leading specialists
and covers rather systematically many of these topics. It can be useful
to the specialists in various subjects using random matrices, from PhD
students to confirmed scientists.