The Symposium on "The Influence of Polymer Additives on Veloc- ity and Temperature Fields" was proposed to the General Assem- bly of the International Union of Theoretical and Applied Me- chanics (IUTAM) by the "Gesellschaft fur Angewandte Mathematik und Mechanik" (GAMM). The Symposium was held under the auspices of IUTAM in association with the "Deutsche Rheologische Ge- sellschaft" (DRG) with responsibility for the organization ly- ing with B. Gampert (Universitat-GH-Essen). The main aim of this IUTAM Symposium was to consider the funda- mental aspects of the phenomena that occur when small amounts of polymers are added to turbulent flows (turbulent drag re- duction) and laminar porous media flows. In particular atten- tion was devoted to - the influence of molecular parameters of the polymers and solution properties, especially the elongational viscosity, on turbulent flow and laminar porous media flow; the influence of polymers on the turbulence structure in polymer drag reduction.