Number 1, November 1996.

Foreword

by Arjeh Cohen (Coordinator of the SAC Network)

Dept. of Mathematics
Technical University of Eindhoven
P.O. Box 513, 5600MB Eindhoven (The Netherlands)
Email: amc@win.tue.nl

SAC ("Symbolic and Algebraic Computation") is a scientific and technical cooperation network of the HCM ("Human Capital and Mobility Program") of the Commission of the European Communities involving academic participants, acting as national coordinators. The central objective of SAC is to create a platform on which the various activities of Symbolic and Algebraic Computation in Europe can be successfully integrated.

The main goal of the SAC Newsletter of which you are presently reading the very first issue is to disseminate news from the partners in the SAC Network as well as other useful information about Symbolic and Algebraic Computation among researchers, engineers, teachers, students and users of Computer Algebra Systems. This first issue definitely reflects the diversity and the dynamics of this fascinating field bringing together researchers and users from various disciplines. The SAC network has given the means to realise some projects presented in this issue, the most notable example being CAIN (the "Computer Algebra Information Network"), and has facilitated other projects through the enhancement of collaborations between European research teams and the organization of workshops.

Since the objectives of the SAC Newsletter bring those of the "CAN Nieuwsbrief" to a European scale, this seven year old newsletter produced by Computer Algebra Nederland will be discontinued.

May the SAC Newsletter continue its success for another seven years!

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