HOUSTON JOURNAL OF MATHEMATICSEditorial, Electronic Edition Vol. 28, No. 2, 2002 It gives us distinct pleasure to dedicate this issue to Professor Shiing-Shen Chern. Prof. Chern had been an editor of the Houston Journal of Mathematics from 1992 to 2000. His association with the Department of Mathematics involved yearly visits and stimulating lectures that began in 1988. He has collaborated with members of the department in publications and in organizing conferences. He is currently a Distinguished Visiting Professor Emeritus of the University of Houston. Professor Chern is also Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at the University of California at Berkeley, and Director Emeritus of the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (M.S.R.I.). He is the founding father of three renowned institutes: the Institute of Mathematics of the Academia Sinica, the M.S.R.I., and the Nankai Institute of Mathematics. Professor Chern has rather broad but impeccable tastes in Mathematics. We have taken the liberty of singling out some areas in which he has made profound contributions: real and complex differential geometry, several complex variables, and Finsler geometry. The collection of papers that we have assembled in this issue comes from a small cross-section of mathematicians in whose careers Professor Chern has played a unique role. We are delighted, but not surprised, that the authors in question submitted their manuscripts with much enthusiasm. We hope this special issue will become a source of inspiration for many years to come. Editors of the special issue for S.S. Chern, Volume 28, No. 2
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