Upcoming Events

1. Join Us as We Celebrate Ten Years of Mathematica
   Registrations are quickly rolling in for a one-of-a-kind event--the Worldwide Mathematica Conference. An exciting and extraordinary time is in store for conference attendees... Visit the conference web site to see the latest conference program--which includes speakers, special events, session topics, and formats. June 18-21, 1998, Chicago, Illinois. http://www.wolfram.com/conference98.

2. Distinguished Speakers on Roster for Conference
   The Worldwide Mathematica Conference includes a great line-up of keynote speakers. Among the fifty speakers joining Stephen Wolfram will be Michael Foale, NASA Astronaut of Mir fame, and Mitchell Feigenbaum, chaos theory pioneer. More featured speakers are listed at http://www.wolfram.com/conference98/featured.html.

3. MathMobiles Touring the U.S. and Europe
   The colorful Mathematica graphics and interactive displays of the MathMobiles may be coming to a city near you... The U.S. MathMobile is currently in California, visiting corporations and universities throughout the state. The European MathMobile recently visited Italy and is on its way to Germany, Poland, and Holland. Don't miss it, and tell a friend to watch for it. http://www.wolfram.com/empower

R&D News

4. gigaNumerics Initiative Announced
   For the last two years, Wolfram Research has been working on an ambitious and on-going project to make it efficient for Mathematica to handle gigabyte-sized datasets and beyond. Wolfram Research has invented new methods that are 100% compatible with Mathematica's existing language structure, particularly in integer and floating-point numerical computations. Watch for the first releases of gigaNumerics-enabled technology soon!

5. Publicon Beta Version Available
   Based on Mathematica's highly successful notebook paradigm, Wolfram Research has developed Publicon--a comprehensive solution for interactive technical publishing. Allowing the creation of professional quality technical documents for on-screen, web, and printed use, Publicon has now reached the beta test stage. Download a free beta version at http://www.publicon.com and give us feedback on this exciting new direction in technical publishing.

6. Mathematica Becomes Framework for Web Typesetting Technology
   The key ideas forming the core of the new MathML standard recently ratified by W3C (the World Wide Web Consortium of which Wolfram Research is a member) come directly from Wolfram Research's typesetting technology. MathML (Mathematical Markup Language) is designed to allow mathematical expressions to be transmitted over the web, preserving the structure needed to do computations with them in Mathematica. Find out more about MathML at http://www.wolfram.com/news/mathml/.

New Mathematica-Related Products

7. New: Conix 3D Explorer
   • Extend Mathematica's graphics capabilities
   • Utilize OpenGL rendering
   • Manipulate graphics in real time
   • Apply smooth shading, texture mapping, and more

8. New: Global Optimization
   • Perform constrained or unconstrained global optimization
   • Solve optimal design problems
   • Determine risk assessment
   • Perform nonlinear least squares fitting
   • Find maximum likelihood estimates
   http://store.wolfram.com/view/globalopt/

9. New: Cool Economics Pack
   • Specifically designed for professionals in economics, econometrics, and statistics
   • Integrates functions from more than fifty Mathematica packages
   • Contains over one hundred sample notebooks
   http://store.wolfram.com/view/coolecon/

10. Upgrade: Geometrica Now 3.0 Compatible
    • Use for exact drawing and geometry
    • Create perfect figures
    • Perform analytical geometry and tests using Mathematica's symbolic functions
    http://store.wolfram.com/view/geometrica/

11. New Books Available
    • Introduction to Scientific Programming: Computational Problem Solving Using Mathematica and C
    • Differential Equations with Mathematica, Second Edition
    • Physics by Computer: Programming Physical Problems Using Mathematica and C

Mathematica Tips

12. Functions of the Month: ComplexExpand and PowerExpand
    ComplexExpand and PowerExpand can be very useful when working with real-valued expressions, or expressions that represent real or positive numbers. For example, try
    PowerExpand[Sqrt[x^2] + Log[Exp[y]]]
    ComplexExpand[Re[Sin[x + I y]]]
    ComplexExpand is useful if some or all of your variables have real values. The transformations invoked by PowerExpand involve other requirements, such as assuming that certain variables are positive. You can read more about these functions in the Help Browser.

13. Find Coordinates in a Plot
    To get coordinates in a 2D plot, select the plot, hold down the appropriate modifier key for your system (Control, Command, or Mod-1), and move the pointer over the area of the plot. The coordinate values of the pointer position will be displayed in the window's status area. If you click one or more times while holding down the modifier key, the coordinates will be selected. You can then copy the coordinate values and paste them into a different cell.

14. Check Out Demo Palettes
    Palettes provide a simple way to set up a point-and-click interface to Mathematica operations. For some examples of what you can do with palettes, choose Getting Started/Demos in the Help Browser and go to Palette Demos. Next click any of the blue hyperlinks to see examples of the palettes.

15. Using a Remote Kernel
    There are many situations in which you may want to run the Mathematica notebook front end on one computer, but run the Mathematica kernel on a different ("remote") computer. This technique is frequently used for running large kernel calculations on a fast, central computer, while running the notebook front end on a smaller desktop machine. For information on how to set up a remote kernel on your computer, see the section on running the kernel remotely in the System Information for your computer in the Getting Started/Demos section of the Help Browser.

For more Mathematica tips, visit http://www.wolfram.com/tipoftheweek.

Mathematica Miscellanea

16. Mathematica Makes Cameo in PBS Series
    Watch carefully and you'll see Mathematica on many computer screens throughout "Life by the Numbers," a seven-part series that reveals the crucial role mathematics plays in everyday life. The series features mathematicians, artists, architects, scientists, educators, and others--many who use Mathematica for work and play. The series begins this month nationwide on PBS. (Check your local listings.) http://www.mathlife.org/

17. New Format for The Mathematica Journal
    The Mathematica Journal is being reorganized to support a new web-based format with many enhanced new features. The Journal will continue to support all aspects of the Mathematica community; subscribers will automatically receive updated information. For more information, send email to info@mathematica-journal.com.

18. Visiting Scholars Accepted for 1998
    Over twenty people from around the world have been chosen to participate in Wolfram Research's Visiting Scholar Grant Program. Receiving a grant to work at WRI headquarters for up to eight weeks, the participants collaborate with R&D staff on projects that will make a dramatic impact in their chosen fields. Find out more at http://www.wolfram.com/education/visiting_scholar/.

19. Mathematica in the News
    Some glowing reviews and awards include:
    • The March 16 issue of Government Computer News: "This heavy-duty package is just about friendly enough for every professional from business analyst to graphic artist."
    • Control System Professional has received a Product Recognition Award from Control Engineering magazine. The award was presented to Wolfram Research at the National Industrial Automation Show in Chicago, Illinois. Find out more about Control System Professional at http://www.wolfram.com/applications/control.
    • In a recent issue of Biotechnology Software & Internet Journal: "There is no denying that Mathematica is one of the greatest collections of mathematical tools for symbolic and numeric calculations under the sun."

20. Speaker's Bureau Formed
    Wolfram Research's Speaker's Bureau includes many distinguished mathematicians and scientists from industry and academia. They are all enthusiastic Mathematica users eager to share their experiences with a wide range of audiences. To schedule someone from our Speaker's Bureau or to recommend someone (perhaps yourself) as a speaker, please send email to speakers@wolfram.com.