The Norbert Wiener Center for Harmonic Analysis and Applications provides a national focus for the broad emerging area of Mathematical Engineering. It can be confidently asserted that Mathematical Engineering will be to today's mathematics departments what Mathematical Physics was to those of a century ago. At that time, Mathematical Physics provided the impetus for tremendous advances within mathematics departments, with particular impact in fields such as differential equations, operator theory, and numerical analysis. Tools developed in these fields were essential in the advances of applied physics, including the development of the solid state devices which now enable our information economy.

In the coming years, Mathematical Engineering will impel the study of fundamental harmonic analysis issues in the theory and applications of signal processing, modeling, and control in the mathematics departments of the near future. The results will help advance the technologies of the new millennium.