This volume contains the contributions of participants of the conference
"Optimal Control of Partial Differential Equations" which, under the
chairmanship of the editors, took place at the Mathematisches
Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach from May 18 to May 24, 1986. The great
variety of topics covered by the contributions strongly indicates that
also in the future it will be impossible to develop a unifying control
theory of partial differential equations. On the other hand, there is a
strong tendency to treat prob- lems which are directly connected to
practical applications. So this volume contains real-world applications
like optimal cooling laws for the production of rolled steel or concrete
solutions for the problem of optimal shape design in mechanics and
hydrody- namics. Another main topic is the construction of numerical
methods. This includes applications of the finite element method as well
as of Quasi-Newton-methods to con- strained and unconstrained control
problems. Also, very complex problems arising in the theory of free
boundary value problems are treated. ] inally, some contribu- tions
show how practical problems stimulate the further development of the
theory; in particular, this is the case for fields like suboptimal
control, necessary optimality conditions and sensitivity analysis. As
usual, the lectures and stimulating discussions took place in the
pleasant at- mosphere of the Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut
Oberwolfach. Special thanks of the participants are returned to the
Director as well as to the staff of the institute.