The heh~vior of matter anrl waves in a rlynamical setting nffer~ many challenging prohlems to the mathematician anrl the m~terials scientist alike. Unrler review in this volume are a variety of nonlioear phenomena whose con- sirleration entails new perspectives, oot commooly fouorl in the literatllre. Of particular note is the experimental aspect of many of the papers. In arlrlition, attention has been given ta the interaction of electromagnetic anrl mechanical pro- perties of materials. Ouestions arise which cannat naw he answererl. Attempts are marle to rlescrihe anrl to unrlerstand phenomena which are far from equilihrium ar which suffer ahrupt changes in behavior. Some of this requires tentative physical or aoalytical assumptions. The hases for these hypotheses lie in the quest for a rational theory which agrees with experiment. This Volume anr! Volume 2, ~scUJation theory, compution, an'!. methorls ~ com- pensated ~~mpact~ess, offer oi fferent vi ewpoi nts of some of the rlynami cal stllrli es considereo during the 19f14-19R5 IMA program, Continullm Physics and Partial Differenti al Equati ons. Contents of the other volumes, fOllnrl at the enrl of the hook, contain other relevant titles.

The heh~vior of matter anrl waves in a rlynamical setting nffer~ many challenging prohlems to the mathematician anrl the m~terials scientist alike. Unrler review in this volume are a variety of nonlioear phenomena whose con- sirleration entails new perspectives, oot commooly fouorl in the literatllre. Of particular note is the experimental aspect of many of the papers. In arlrlition, attention has been given ta the interaction of electromagnetic anrl mechanical pro- perties of materials. Ouestions arise which cannat naw he answererl. Attempts are marle to rlescrihe anrl to unrlerstand phenomena which are far from equilihrium ar which suffer ahrupt changes in behavior. Some of this requires tentative physical or aoalytical assumptions. The hases for these hypotheses lie in the quest for a rational theory which agrees with experiment. This Volume anr! Volume 2, ~scUJation theory, compution, an'!. methorls ~ com- pensated ~~mpact~ess, offer oi fferent vi ewpoi nts of some of the rlynami cal stllrli es considereo during the 19f14-19R5 IMA program, Continullm Physics and Partial Differenti al Equati ons. Contents of the other volumes, fOllnrl at the enrl of the hook, contain other relevant titles.

This IMA Volume in Mathematics and its Applications Oscillation Theory, Computation, and Methods of Compensated Compactness represents the proceedings of a workshop which was an integral part of the 1984-85 IMA program on CONTINUUM PHYSICS AND PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS. We are grateful to the Scientific Committee: J. L. Ericksen D. Kinderlehrer H. Brezis C. Dafermos for their dedication and hard work in developing an imaginative, stimulating, and productive year-long program. George R. Sell Hans Weinberger PREFACE Historically, one of the most important prohlems in continuum mechanics has been the treatment of nonlinear hyperbolic systems of conservation laws. Thp. importance of these systems lies in the fact that the underlyinq equ~tions of mass, momentum, and energy are descrihed by conservation laws. Their nonlinearity and hyperbolicity are consequences of some cornmon constitutive relations, for example, in an ideal gas. The I. M. A. Workshop on "Osci 11 at i on theory. computat i on, and methods of com- pensated compactness" brought together scientists from both the analytical and numerical sides of conservation law research. The goal was to examine recent trends in the investigation of systems of conservation laws and in particular to focus on the roles of dispersive and diffusive limits for singularily perturbed conservation laws. Special attention was devoted to the new ideas of compen- sated compactness and oscillation theory.