It is my pleasure to invite you to attend the 16th International Symposium on Nonlinear Acoustics in Moscow, August 19-23, 2002. This is the first ISNA of the new Millennium and will, we are confident, be a great scientific event attended by a distinguished international audience.

Moscow State University (MSU) is the oldest and largest university in Russia. It plays a leading role in the field of science and is home to many eminent scientists. More than half of the members of the Russian Academy of Sciences work here. The Department of Acoustics is in the Physics Faculty where Nobel Prize winners, L. Landau, I. Tamm, I. Frank, A. Prokhorov, and P. Kapitsa have worked alongside other outstanding scientists, to make key contributions to Fundamental and Applied Physics. Nonlinear Acoustics has been studied here for about 40-50 years and is associated with the names of Professors V. Krasilnikov and R. Khokhlov, the former Rector of MSU, the Chair of the 6th ISNA held at MSU in 1975.

Now the problems in nonlinear acoustic wave propagation are studied in several faculties of MSU. For this reason we have broadened the traditional list of topics for ISNA-16. We are pleased to invite leading experts in Mechanics, Aerospace, Earth Sciences, Solid State Physics, Mathematics, and Engineering, who have an interest in related nonlinear problems. We anticipate that a broad exchange of ideas will lead to further developments in the field of Nonlinear Acoustics.

Moscow University is located on hills overlooking the Moscow River. It is in a beautiful setting surrounded by parks. Accommodation is available in the main building of MSU. There are also numerous comfortable hotels in the city. The Kremlin Palace, which is in the heart of Moscow, is a 20-minute Metro ride from MSU. Your visit will be a unique opportunity to combine science with history and art.

I look forward to seeing you in Moscow.

Oleg Rudenko