The research, both theoretical and applied, is centered around five major themes: • high-performance computing, networks and visualization, • teleoperations and intelligent assistants, • language engineering, document engineering, scientific and technical information engineering, • sofware and computer system quality and safety, • bioinformatics and applications in genomics. Research activity is performed by 25 research teams including 15 INRIA project teams, with the assistance of 8 research support services. In 2003, three new research teams have been created: Design on object-oriented langages and systems, Madynes on management of dynamic networks and services, and Algorille on algorithms for the Grid. The research teams Cassis et Modbio became INRIA project teams. In autumn 2003, 4 INRIA and 3 CNRS permanent researchers, 5 assistant professors joined the research teams. More than half of them are coming from outside Lorraine. Detailled activities and results are described in this annual report. Without attempting any exhaustivity, some of them mentioned below illustrate applicative potential and scientific relevance

Algorithmic proof-search is an essential enabling technology throughout informatics. Proof-search is the proof-theoretic realization of the formulation of logic not as a theory of deduction but rather as a theory of reduction. Whilst deductive logics typically have a well-developed semantics of proofs, reductive logics are typically well-understood only operationally. Each deductive system can, typically, be read as a corresponding reductive system. We discuss some of the problems which must be addressed in order to provide a semantics of proof-searches of comparable value to the corresponding semantics of proofs. Just as the semantics of proofs is intimately related to the model theory of the underlying logic, so too should be the semantics of proof-searches. We discuss how to solve the problem of providing a semantics for proof-searches which adequately models both operational and logical aspects of the reductive system. 1