Foreword [Intro. to the Bellman Special Issue]

The Bellman Special Issue of the Transactions on Automatic Control is a first in the history of the Control Systems Society. Never before has the Society dedicated a special issue to an individual - and especially an individual who is a mathematician rather than an engineer. The papers appearing in the special issue deal with a variety of topics which in one way or another reflect the influence of Bellman's ideas-ideas contained in over six hundred papers, thirty-six books, and seven monographs. All of the papers in the special issue have beenc ontributed and all have been subjected to a rigorous review process. In addition, a brief biography of Richard E. Bellman is given highlighting his professional achievements.