On November 3, 2005, Alexander Vasil'evich Kazhikhov left this world, untimely and unexpectedly. He was one of the most in?uential mathematicians in the mechanics of ?uids, and will be remembered for his outstanding results that had, and still have, a c- siderablysigni?cantin?uenceinthe?eld.Amonghis manyachievements,werecall that he was the founder of the modern mathematical theory of the Navier-Stokes equations describing one- and two-dimensional motions of a viscous, compressible and heat-conducting gas. A brief account of Professor Kazhikhov's contributions to science is provided in the following article "Scienti?c portrait of Alexander Vasil'evich Kazhikhov". This volume is meant to be an expression of high regard to his memory, from most of his friends and his colleagues. In particular, it collects a selection of papers that represent the latest progress in a number of new important directions of Mathematical Physics, mainly of Mathematical Fluid Mechanics. These papers are written by world renowned specialists. Most of them were friends, students or colleagues of Professor Kazhikhov, who either worked with him directly, or met him many times in o?cial scienti?c meetings, where they had the opportunity of discussing problems of common interest.