Letter from the Conference Chairmen

The RT97 conference program was based on presentation on present day research in Real Time technology. However, for the first time in this series of conferences, a strong emphasis was also placed on challenges in the wider scientific and industrial community. The participation of experts in Molecular Biology, Medicine, Meteorology, Avionics, Plasma Physics and Astrophysics as well as in Nuclear and High Energy Physics, together with the presence of nearly 30 companies, demonstrated the very broad based nature of the conference.