The present volume is concerned with two of the central questions of chemical dynamics. What do we know about the energies of interaction of atoms and molecules with each other and with solid surfaces? How can such interaction energies be used to understand and make quantitative predictions about dynamical processes like scattering, energy transfer, and chemical reactions? It is becoming clearly recognized that the computer is leading to rapid progress in answering these questions. The computer allows probing dynamical mechanisms in fine detail and often allows us to answer questions that cannot be addressed with current experimental techniques. As we enter the 1980's, not only are more powerful and faster computers being used, but techniques and methods have been honed to a state where exciting and reliable data are being generated on a variety of systems at an unprecedented pace. The present volume presents a collection of work that illustrates the capabilities and some of the successes of this kind of computer-assisted research. In a 1978 Chemical Society Report, Frey and Walsh pointed out that "it is extremely doubtful if a calculated energy of activation for any unimolecular decomposition can replace an experimental deter mination. " However they also recorded that they "believe[d] that some of the elaborate calculations being performed at present do suggest that we may be approaching a time when a choice between reaction mechanisms will be helped by such [computational] work.

Statistical physics is one of the fundamental branches of modern science. It provides a useful tool constructing a bridge from the microscopic to the macroscopic world. In the last forty years, most of the extensive applications have been made successfully in a variety of fields, such as physics, chemistry, biology, materials science, and even astronomy, where many new concepts and methods have been developed.The purpose of this meeting is to provide an opportunity for young researchers in experimental, theoretical and computational fields to communicate with one another using the common language of statistical physics, and thus foster many-body interactions among themselves.

Publishes papers that report results of research in statistical physics, plasmas, fluids, and related interdisciplinary topics. There are sections on (1) methods of statistical physics, (2) classical fluids, (3) liquid crystals, (4) diffusion-limited aggregation, and dendritic growth, (5) biological physics, (6) plasma physics, (7) physics of beams, (8) classical physics, including nonlinear media, and (9) computational physics.