Starting in the middle 1960s the University of Pennsylvania was known as a world center of mathematics connected to the foundations of Quantum Physics, including functional analysis, operator algebras, von Neumann algebras, and group representation theory. At the center of this research effort and the very distinguished group of mathematicians who pursued it was Richard V. Kadison. Dick was the Gustave C. Kuemmerle Professor in the Department of Mathematics from 1964 until his sudden, and unexpected death this past July. This truly marks the end of a long and distinguished chapter in the history of the Penn Mathematics department, and of the University as a whole, but by no means does it mark the end of Operator Algebras as vital field of Mathematics. Dick’s passing provides an occasion for a meeting that will both celebrate his central role in the growth and vitality of this field, and explore its current state and future directions.

The conference organizers gratefully acknowledge the support of the National Science Foundation