Preface

In July 2010 we celebrated the 60th birthday of Tudor S. Ratiu with a workshop entitled ``Geometry, Mechanics, and Dynamics" that was held at the Centre International de Rencontres Mathématiques in Luminy. Tudor is one of the world's most renowned and esteemed mathematicians and this conference was a great occasion to go over the numerous subjects on which he has worked and had a deep influence. Most of these topics are strongly connected to the subject matter of this journal, whose very foundation owes much to Tudor's encouragement and support.
    I coorganized this event with the late Jerry Marsden who was the main force behind it and started its preparation several years in advance as it was his habit with so many other things. Jerry was not only Tudor's PhD advisor but also his main collaborator for thirty years, friend, mentor and as for many of us, an endless source of intellectual inspiration. This is why we felt so sad when we learnt that his health had deteriorated and that he could not attend the meeting he had put so much dedication on and, needless to say, so devastated when the news of his passing arrived a few months later.

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