High pressure science is a rapidly growing diverse fi. e1d. The high pressure technique has become a powerful tool for both the study and preparation of materials. In spi. te of the many high pressure conferences held in recent years, I felt that there was a need for scientists within a well-defined area (not bound merely by the common experimental technique) to meet in an atmosphere conducive to frank exchange and close interaction. In this spirit, the Cleveland State University hosted such a conference from July 20 to 22, 1977, in which the physics of solids under high pressures and at low...