We do not propose a standard conferences, but rather a workshop in an older sense of the word: People meeting and working together. The Geometry Center is the ideal site for us because our workshops are devoted to problems involving practical computation. Most places provide visitors with resources which are adequate for E-mail, a small amount of editing, and nothing more. At the workshops August 1995 and January 1994 people worked on developing software and used existing software to do research on mathematical problems.
The Geometry Center is not valuable merely for its hardware. Its unique environment facilitates informal interactions among participants. By environment we mean not just the physical endowment of the Geometry Center but also the staff, who have given us essential advice and help us with the problems of software development.
It is not our intention to confine attendance to members of GASP, and we plan to make considerable efforts to attract significant contributors to this area of mathematics and computer science from all over the world. In accordance with GC guidelines, the workshop will be open to all who want to attend. We have under consideration the question of whether some expository talks should be put on at the workshop, inresponse to the exit needs of graduate students and others who may be interested but not have the necessary background. However, this may detract from the quality of the research activity, so we are still in two minds about this.