This book offers a captivating exploration of the intersection between mathematics, chaos theory, and dynamical systems through the personal journeys of twelve renowned mathematicians and physicists from China, Europe, Russia, and the USA.

The first section of the book provides an intimate look into the formative experiences and early steps of these scientists. In these life stories, the names of other famous mathematicians arise, crisscrossing all the stories in unexpected ways. The second part of the book explores the practical applications of chaotic attractors in various fields. These include chaos-based encryption in cryptography, sensor and actuator placement in Chua circuits for control systems, and chaotic dynamics in remote sensing for crop modeling. It also highlights the role of chaos theory in the development of memristors following Leon Chua’s 1971 discovery, leading to advances in nonlinear dynamics, hyperchaos, and memristor-based systems. The chapters further examine how chaos theory addresses modern challenges such as modeling COVID-19 spread using SEIR models and optimizing mobile network design, demonstrating the wide-reaching impact of chaotic systems in real-world applications.

This book will be of great value to students and researchers in mathematics, physics, engineering, and related disciplines seeking to deepen their understanding of chaotic dynamical systems and their applications.

This book includes a revised introduction and a new chapter. The remaining chapters were originally published in Journal of Difference Equations and Applications.