Masters Theses in the Pure and Applied Sciences was first conceived, published, and disseminated by the Center for Information and Numerical Data Analysis and Synthesis (CINDAS) * at Purdue University in 1957, starting its coverage of theses with the academic year 1955. Beginning with Volume 13, the printing and dissemination phases of the activity were transferred to University Microfilms/Xerox of Ann Arbor, Michigan, with the thought that such an arrangement would be more beneficial to the academic and general scientific and technical community. After five years of this joint undertaking we had concluded that it was in the interest of all con cerned if the printing and distribution of the volume were handled by an international publishing house to assure improved service and broader dissemination. Hence, starting with Volume 18, Masters Theses in the Pure and Applied Sciences has been disseminated on a worldwide basis by Plenum Publishing Cor poration of New York, and in the same year the coverage was broadened to include Canadian universities. All back issues can also be ordered from Plenum. We have reported in Volume 26 (thesis year 1981) a total of 11 ,048 theses titles from 24 Canadian and 21 8 United States universities. We are sure that this broader base for these titles reported will greatly enhance the value of this important annual reference work. While Volume 26 reports theses submitted in 1981, on occasion, certain univer sities do report theses submitted in previous years but not reported at the time.

This report is based on a conference on the applications of microcomputers in development sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in collaboration with a host country.

Information Control Problems in Manufacturing Technology 1979 is a compilation of papers presented at the second IFAC/IFIP Symposium held at Stuttgart, Germany on October 22-24, 1979. The book discusses the following topics: flexible manufacturing systems research; information processing in large and small systems; materials handling in a manufacturing system; control requirements in industrial robot use; and quality assurance in automated manufacturing processes. The text gives an overview of the Integrated Computer Aided Manufacturing program employed in aerospace batch manufacturing. One paper then presents a research and development program of Japan pertaining to use of lasers in a flexible manufacturing system complex. Another paper discusses the development and set-up of two flexible and different manufacturing systems; the paper also explains the appropriate information processing system that will control such complicated manufacturing processes. Another paper presents the advances in computers for quality control applications that are expected through lower hardware costs and better utilization of statistical methods. Mechanical engineers, technical designers, and students with serious interest in automatic control and computer-aided systems will find this book valuable.