Optimization - A many splendored thing -

This is the printed and updated version of the plenary lecture that was given in a PowerPoint presentation form at the 1999 IFAC Congress by the author. By viewing the slides with their accompanying text, one can get an approximation of the spoken lecture. However, animation and color information of the presentation are lost. Reader can consult www.hrl.harvard.edu/ ho for more information. Since this lecture is primarily of an informal survey nature, we emphasize conceptual unification and understanding rather than scholarly exactness.