CONTENTS

A sample of different globular clusters in our galaxy: M72 (middle),
NGC6229 (left) y PAL14 (right).

The study of globular clusters has been and still is essential for furthering our knowledge of such astrophysical phenomena as stellar and galactic evolution, variable and X-ray emission stars, chemical abundances (primordial nucleosynthesis), etc.

Globular clusters are ideal laboratories for testing theories of stellar evolution, the chemical evolution of the Universe and the dynamics of N-body systems. They are the oldest known objects whose ages can be independently determined, the closest in proximity to the origin of the Universe and the sole surviving structures of the first stages in the formation of the Galaxy. They provide us with important evidence concerning on the age and formation processes of the Galaxy. A fundamental unit of the known Universe, they are also found in all other galaxies within our observational grasp. They are possibly a necessary stage in the formation of galaxies.

Nevertheless, even though no researcher is in any doubt regarding relevance of globular clusters in the aforementioned fields, there have so far been no important congresses dedicated specifically to them since 1992 (Structure and Dynamics of Globular Clusters: UC Workshop, Berkeley, July 1992) and there has been no important international school on the subject.

As scientific research becomes ever more highly specialized, researchers, particularly those who are now beginning their careers in this atmosphere of intense specialization, are finding it harder and harder to keep abreast and properly orientated in all the disciplines related to their line of work. This Winter School was planned with a view to offering a thorough review of research on globular clusters and is intended to cover all the relevant disciplines with the aid of the best possible international team of specialists (Canada, Italy, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States), including the theoretical and observational aspects of stellar populations, stellar evolution and quemical abundances, dynamics, variable stars, X-ray sources and the globular clusters of other galaxies.

The X Canary Islands Winter School of Astrophysics aims to bring together doctoral students and recent PhDs on the one hand and a group of renowned specialists on the other in order to review the field of globular clusters. It is our intention to communicate a clear general overview that will enable researchers to link their own field of specialization to others related to it, thereby increasing their understanding of their own work. With regard to the young researcher we seek to instill in them an awareness of the "great game of investigation" enjoyed by their more experienced peers. The Winter School plays two fundamental roles: that of training researchers and that of providing a vehicle for publicizing new discoveries.

The lecturers have been invited to provide written versions of their talks for publication in the near future, since we believe that this would be a useful tool for both investigators in the field and students of astrophysics world wide.

Finally, we should like to express our gratitude to all who have made the X Canary Islands Winter School of Astrophysics possible. It has been the fruit of the good will of many individuals at the IAC, among whom we wish to mention Lourdes González, Nieves Villoslada, Jesús Burgos, Carmen del Puerto, Begoña López Betancor, Mónica Murphy and Campbell Warden. Finally, but no less importantly, our thanks are due to the participants themselves: the lecturers and students from over 25 countries, from all the continents, for their interest and the work they have presented from their most recent research.

To date, over 600 students and some 80 lecturers have attended the ten Canary Islands Winter School of Astrophysics, organized each year by the IAC. The high standard of teaching at the Winter School is recognized internationally. This year in particular we have received financial assistance from the European Commission under the Training and Mobility of Researchers Programme to cover the costs of participants from the European Union and Eastern Europe.

The IAC Winter School provides a unique opportunity for doctoral students from universities the world over to get to know other colleagues preparing their theses on related topics and to meet specialists of international repute in the topic covered by the Winter Schools. It also gives them the chance to see the IAC and its Observatories.

This year the talks at the Winter School will be imparted in the main lecture hall (Aula Magna) of the Faculties of Physics and Mathematics of the University of La Laguna. Through this means, it is our intention that the Winter School students and lecturers experience the University of La Laguna at first hand. Likewise, students at the Faculties of Physics and Mathematics can strike up acquaintances with students and lecturers from various countries at the same time as attending the Winter School lectures.

  
Carlos Martínez Roger  and Ismael Pérez Fournon