These lecturers provide a clear introduction to Lie group methods for determining and using symmetries of differential equations, a variety of their applications in gas dynamics and other nonlinear models as well as the author's remarkable contribution to this classical subject. It contains material that is useful for students and teachers but cannot be found in modern texts. For example, the theory of partially invariant solutions developed by Ovsyannikov provides a powerful tool for solving systems of nonlinear differential equations and investigating complicated mathematical models.