Welcome from the ISMVL-2012 Symposium Chair

ISMVL has been hosted in Canada on seven previous occasions: 1973 Toronto, ON; 1984 Winnipeg, MB; 1985 Kingston, ON; 1991 Victoria, BC; 1997 Antigonish, NS; 2004 Toronto, ON; 2005 Calgary, AB. It is a privilege to host the symposium in Victoria for a second time. Twenty-one years has gone by quickly. Financial sponsorship for ISMVL was provided by the Office of the Vice-President Research and the Faculty of Engineering, University of Victoria, and by the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences. A big thank you goes to those organizations.