This volume is the collection of papers presented at the workshop on 'The Stability of Spatially Varying and Time Dependent Flows" sponsored by the Institute for Computer Applications in Science and Engineering (lCASE) and NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) during August 19- 23, 1985. The purpose of this workshop was to bring together some of the experts in the field for an exchange of ideas to update the current status of knowledge and to help identify trends for future research. Among the invited speakers were D.M. Bushnell, M. Goldstein, P. Hall, Th. Herbert, R.E. Kelly, L. Mack, A.H. Nayfeh, F.T. Smith, and C. von Kerczek. The contributed papers were by A. Bayliss, R. Bodonyi, S. Cowley, C. Grosch, S. Lekoudis, P. Monkewitz, A. Patera, and C. Streett. In the first article, Bushnell provides a historical background on laminar flow control (LFC) research and summarizes the crucial role played by stability theory in LFC system design. He also identifies problem areas in stability theory requiring further research from the view-point of ap­ plications to LFC design. It is an excellent article for theoreticians looking for some down-to-earth applications of stability theory.