ALMA is a worldwide project, the synthesis of early visions of astronomers in
its three partner communities, Europe, North America, and Japan. The evolution
of these concepts and their eventual merger into ALMA are discussed, setting
the background for the papers which follow on the scientific requirements and
expected performance of ALMA for extra-galactic, galactic, and solar system
research.Comment: 4 pages, including 1 figure; to appear in ESA SP-577, Proceedings of
the conference "Dusty and Molecular Universe - A prelude to HERSCHEL AND
ALMA", October 25-27, 2004, Pari