MSRI after three years (Q1066138)

The author of the article was himself appointed director of the Mathematical Science Research Institute, University of California, Berkeley (founded 1982) in 1984. The article supplements earlier documents and articles on the formal history and organization of the Institute (listed in the bibliography) by giving a personal impression of life in the Institute and an overview of the scientific activities carried out and planned until 1988, with special regard to those of 1984/85 (concentrating upon low dimensional topology and operator algebras). From a general, non-institutional point of view, the article is interesting by showing from a participant's point of view the importance of cross-fertilization between various branches of contemporary mathematics.