The theory of solitons which began as an investigation of a very interesting but particular class of nonlinear phenomena in physics now involves a broad variety of mathematical methods that allow one to study a wide range of phenomena and problems that arise in physics, technology, biology and pure and applied mathematics.
        The purpose of the Workshop is to bring together qualified scientists and young researchers who study nonlinear physics, mathematics or science. A goal of the meeting is to offer researchers the opportunity to discuss recent developments and achievements, as well as to discuss future perspectives, in the fascinating natural environment of Southern Italy.
        As stated in the title of the Workshop, emphasis will be placed on both theory and experiment. An objective is to offer to the nonlinear scientific community a truly interdisciplinary workshop as a privileged place for scientific interaction among theoreticians and experimentalists. The organizers of the Workshop have observed the increasing relevance of solitons and other nonlinear effects in laboratory experiments and applications. Applications to nonlinear optics, molecular dynamics, fluid dynamics, plasma waves, hydrodynamics, quantum electronics, solid state physics, string theory, gravity etc. are of interest. Mathematical approaches including continuous and discrete nonlinear systems, classical and quantum, will be considered. Specific theoretical topics can cover inverse scattering, hamiltonian structures, geometrical approaches, Painlevé property, symmetries... The list is to be considered open, especially to potentially new mathematical methods and applications.
        This Workshop is part of thirty years of active participation by the University of Lecce (now University of Salento) in developing international scientific cooperation in Nonlinear Science. A meeting entitled ”Nonlinear Evolution Equations and Dynamical Systems” (NEEDS for short) was organized in Lecce in 1979. Successively three other NEEDS Workshops were organized in Gallipoli in 1985, 1991 and 1993, the Workshops entitled ”Nonlinear Physics. Theory and Experiment” in Gallipoli in 1995, 2002, 2004 and 2006, and a Workshop entitled ”Nonlinearity, Integrability and All That, Twenty Years After NEEDS '79” in Gallipoli in 1999.
        The Workshop will take place from Thursday June 12 (arrival day) to Saturday June 21 (departure day), 2008, at the Ecoresort Le Sirenè (Gallipoli Bay) near Lecce, Italy, with all needed facilities as conference and lecture hall, by a sandy beach in a beautiful setting.
        An all-inclusive fee of Euro 978 will cover the cost of registration (Euro 150), meals and lodging during the Workshop (in double occupancy rooms with private facilities) and the transportation from Lecce terminal or Brindisi International Airport to Gallipoli and back (for participants arriving on June 12 and leaving on June 21). The all-inclusive rate for accompanying persons is Euro 828.
        Persons interested in participating will receive the second announcement with additional details and the registration form by contacting the Workshop Secretary or checking at http://www.fisica.unile.it/nonlinear5/ (to appear in October 2007).
Organizers: Marco Boiti and Flora Pempinelli, Dipartimento di Fisica, Università del Salento, 73100 Lecce, boiti@le.infn.it, pempi@le.infn.it . Co-organizers: Mark J. Ablowitz, Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Colorado, Boulder, markjab@boulder.colorado.edu; Andrei K. Pobgrebkov, Steklov Mathematical Institute, Moscow, pogreb@mi.ras.ru. Workshop Secretariat: Maria Concetta Gerardi, Dipartimento di Fisica, Università del Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy; Phone and FAX +39 0832 297467, FAX +39 0832 297505, gerardi@le.infn.it, also maria.concetta.gerardi@le.infn.it. Sponsors:Università del Salento - Consorzio EINSTEIN -INFN .