The request to organize under its patronage at Poitiers in 1998 a Symposium entitled "Advanced Optical Methods and Applications in Solid Mechanics" by the International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (I.U.T.A.M.) was well received for the following two reasons. First, for nearly 20 years no Symposium devoted to optical methods in solids had been organized. Second, recent advances in digital image processing provided many new applications which are described in the following. We have the honour to present here the proceedings of this Symposium. st th The Symposium took place from...

In 1976, the International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (I.U.T.A.M.) agreed to hold a 1979 Symposium on "Optical Methods in Mechanics of Solids" at the University of Poitiers, France. The Labaratory of Mechanics of Solids at the University of Poitiers, a research team associated with the French National Center for Scientific Research (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, C.N.R.S.) was in charge of the organization. The symposium was held at the Ecole Nationale Superieure de Mecanique et d'Aerotechnique (E.N.S.M.A.), from the lOth to the 14th of September. We have the...