REPORT Haifa 1985 Conference on Matrix Theory Abraham Berman Department of Mathematics Technion -Israel Institute of Technology Haifa 32000, Zsrael Yair Censor Department of Mathematics and Computer Science University of Haifa Mount Carmel, Haifa 31999, Israel and Hans Schneider Department of Mathematics The University of Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin 53706 and Technion -Israel Institute of Technology Haifa 32000, Israel Submitted by Hans Schneider INTRODUCTION The Haifa 1985 Conference is the second in a series (hopefully of length greater than 2) of conferences on matrix theory. It was held from 29-31 December, 1985 under the auspices of the Israel Mathematical Union, and hosted by the Department of Mathematics at the Technion and the Depart- ment of Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Haifa. Participants from Israeli universities, research institutes, and high-tech in- dustries gathered to listen to twenty-seven speakers, including three guests from the U.S.A. and West Germany. The informal exchange of information and ideas culminated in an open problem session. The social program included receptions at the University of Haifa and at the Technion, and a guided tour of the Reuben and Edith Hecht Museum at the University of Haifa. This report contains synopses of talks presented at the meeting, which were made available to us. They are arranged in alphabetical order. In coauthored synopses, the speakers’ names are starred. LINEAR ALGEBRA AND ITS APPLICATIONS 80:173-260 (1986) 173 c Elsevier Science Publishing Co., Inc., 1986 52 Vanderbilt Ave., New York, NY 10017 00243795/86/$3.50