The development of new materials is recognized as one of the major elements in the overall technological evolution that must go on in order to sustain and even improve the quality of life for citizens of all nations. There are many components to this development, but one is to achieve a better understanding of the properties of materials using the most sophisticated scientific tools that are available. As condensed matter physicists and materials scientists work toward this goal, they find that it is useful to divide their efforts and focus on specific areas, because certain analytical and theoretical techniques will be more useful for the study of one class of materials than another. One such area is the study of metals and metallic alloys, which are used in the manufacture of products as diverse as automobiles and space stations. Progress in this area has been very rapid in recent years, and the new developments come from many different countries. For these reasons the Advanced Research Workshop Programme in the NATO Scientific Affairs Division has seen fit to sponsor several meetings to bring together the researchers and students working in this field from the NATO countries and elsewhere. There have been a series of NATO-ASI's that have dealt with the results of research on the electronic structure of materials and the properties of metals, alloys, and interfaces. They are: "Electrons in finite and infinite structures" P. Phariseau and L.
