The REAPS Program is a U.S. shipbuilding industry/Maritime Administration cooperative effort whose goal is the improvement of shipbuilding productivity through the application of computer aids and production technology. The Seventh Annual REAPS Technical Symposium, held October 14-16, 1980 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, represents one element of the REAPS Program which is designed to provide industry with the opportunity to review new developments in shipyard technology. The Symposium this year highlighted all aspects of the National Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP)* in that presentations were made by all the panel chairmen of the SNAME Ship Production Committee. Appreciation is expressed to the management of Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. for allowing symposium registrants to tour their facilities. We are particularly indebted to all the people at Sun who volunteered their time to make these tours so interesting. The 1980 REAPS Technical Symposium Proceedings contain most of the papers presented at the meeting.

The eleven contributions comprising the first volume address topics that include the history of composites, epoxy resins, fiber reinforced glasses and glass ceramics for high performance applications, aramid fiber reinforcements (specifically, Vniivlon/Polyamidobenzimidazole the USSR's aramid fiber-