Rate-independent systems: Modeling, Analysis, and Computations

The mathematical treatment of rate-independent systems has recently attracted an increasing deal of attention. For this 5-days meeting at BIRS in Banff we have succeeded in gathering some of the most active researchers in the field. Their presentations (recorded below) are documenting some of the current investigation lines for this community. We hope that this short informal report would help in order to document the current standpoint and outlook into some near-future research lines. We take this opportunity in order to acknowledge the very kind hospitality of the BIRS and friendliness and effectiveness of its staff. The success of this meeting has been clearly linked to the delightful atmosphere of the Center.