Professor Ratan Dasgupta is a Senior Professor of Statistics at the Theoretical Statistics and Mathematics Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata. His research interests include non-parametric statistics, rates of convergence in the central limit theorem, and the application of statistics to industrial quality control, biology, physics, sociology, agriculture, education, environment and other natural sciences. He has been at the forefront of promoting the theory and applications of growth curve modelling. His knowledge, expertise and extensive publication record on the topic, as well as his outstanding theoretical skills, make him uniquely qualified to edit this volume.