An International Conference on the "Statistical Properties of Nuclei" was held from August 23 to August 27, 1971, at the State University of New York at Albany campus. The purpose of the conference was to review the current status of the experimental and theoretical aspects of resonance reaction theories, statistics of resonance parameters such as level spacings, neutron, fission, radiative and reaction widths, level densities, fluctuations in cross sections, strength functions and its relation to the optical model, intermediate structure in particle and photon induced reactions, and statistical aspects of the decay of the compound nucleus. The conference was held under the auspices of the Inter national Union of Pure and Applied Physics. The organization of the conference was greatly facilitated by the financial support received from the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics, The National Science Foundation and the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and the generous use of the physical facilities and other audio-visual services provided by the State University of New York. It is with great pleasure that I thank all tbese agencies for their kind support.

Dramatic progress has been made in all branches of physics since the National Research Council's 1986 decadal survey of the field. The Physics in a New Era series explores these advances and looks ahead to future goals. The series includes assessments of the major subfields and reports on several smaller subfields, and preparation has begun on an overview volume on the unity of physics, its relationships to other fields, and its contributions to national needs. Nuclear Physics is the latest volume of the series. The book describes current activity in understanding nuclear structure and symmetries, the behavior of matter at extreme densities, the role of nuclear physics in astrophysics and cosmology, and the instrumentation and facilities used by the field. It makes recommendations on the resources needed for experimental and theoretical advances in the coming decade.

This advanced textbook presents an extensive and diverse study of low-energy nuclear physics considering the nucleus as a quantum system of strongly interacting constituents. The contents guide students from the basic facts and ideas to more modern topics including important developments over the last 20 years, resulting in a comprehensive collection of major modern-day nuclear models otherwise unavailable in the current literature. The book emphasizes the common features of the nucleus and other many-body mesoscopic systems currently in the center of interest in physics. The authors have also included full problem sets that can be selected by lecturers and adjusted to specific interests for more advanced students, with many chapters containing links to freely available computer code. As a result, readers are equipped for scientific work in mesoscopic physics.

It is known that nuclear shells play a particularly important role in the collective motion of nuclear matter and, as a consequence, determine the structure of nuclei, nuclear dynamics, nuclear decay models, etc. In 1999 the nuclear shell model turned fifty, and the 49th meeting on Nuclear Spectroscopy and Nuclear Structure was devoted to nuclear shells in their various manifestations. The talks presented at the conference covered a wide range of experimental and theoretical studies.

Intermediate-Energy Nuclear Physics is devoted to discussing the interaction between hadrons with nuclei, which leads to the emission of particles during an intranuclear cascade and subsequent decay of a highly excited residual nucleus. Experimental data and the methods and results of the calculation of probabilities of various processes initiated by intermediate-energy hadrons in nuclei are set forth and discussed. The potential for obtaining information on the structure and properties of nuclei by comparing experimental data with theoretical results is analyzed. New issues, such as analytic methods for the solution of kinetic equations describing the cascade, nuclear absorption of hadrons from bound states of hadronic atoms, interaction of antinucleons with nuclei, multifragmentation of highly excited residual nuclei, and polarization phenomena, are discussed in detail. The book also demonstrates hadron-nucleus interactions that bridge the gap between low-energy and heavy ions physics. It is an interesting reference for nuclear physicists and other researchers interested in the analysis of problems associated with the evolution of the early (hot) universe, neutron stars and supernovas, after-burning of radioactive waste in nuclear energy installations, and electronuclear energy breeding.

An International Conference on the "Statistical Properties of Nuclei" was held from August 23 to August 27, 1971, at the State University of New York at Albany campus. The purpose of the conference was to review the current status of the experimental and theoretical aspects of resonance reaction theories, statistics of resonance parameters such as level spacings, neutron, fission, radiative and reaction widths, level densities, fluctuations in cross sections, strength functions and its relation to the optical model, intermediate structure in particle and photon induced reactions, and statistical aspects of the decay of the compound nucleus. The conference was held under the auspices of the Inter national Union of Pure and Applied Physics. The organization of the conference was greatly facilitated by the financial support received from the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics, The National Science Foundation and the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and the generous use of the physical facilities and other audio-visual services provided by the State University of New York. It is with great pleasure that I thank all tbese agencies for their kind support.