Preface

This journal edition comprises a collection of papers that were solicited from authors presenting at the 4th symposium on trends in unstructured mesh generation (STUMG). This symposium was held in conjunction with the 7th US national congress on computational mechanics (USNCCM), held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, 27–31 July, 2003. The STUMG is a biannual symposium, focusing on topics related to mesh generation and geometry that are critical to computational field simulations. Previous symposia held in Dearborn, Michigan 2001 [1], Boulder, Colorado 1999 [2], and Northwestern University 1997 [3] have also resulted in special edition journal publications or proceedings. As evidenced by the high volume of submissions to this symposium and other conferences in this field, mesh generation and geometry issues continue to be the focus of substantial research and development efforts in academia, national laboratories, and industry. While mesh generation and related geometry problems have remained high priorities for many in the industry, as the technology continues to mature, the technical focus over the years has tended to shift from basic algorithm research and development, to refinement and honing of the technology to address specialized needs. Drawing from the more than sixty presentations in 13 sessions made at the symposium, the papers in this edition are excellent examples of the diverse and rich nature of the research now being performed within this field. Much appreciation goes to the many authors who contributed to the success of the STUMG for 2003, and also to those who took extra effort to review and provide comments on the final papers submitted to this special edition.