Our interest in Mulhouse for carbon black and soot began some 30 years ago when J.B. Donnet developed the concept of surface chemistry of carbon and its involvement in interactions with gas, liquid and solid phases. In the late sixties, we began to study soot formation in pyrolytic systems and later on in flames. The idea of organ1z1ng a meeting on soot formation originated some four or five years ago, through discussions among Professor J.B. Howard, Dr. A. D'Alessio and ourselves. At that time the scientific community was becoming aware of the necessity to strictly control soot formation and...