The IUTAM Symposium on Constitutive Relation in High/Very High Strain Rates (CRHVHSR) was held October 16 - 19, 1995, at Seminar House, Science University of Tokyo, under the sponsorship of IUTAM, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, The Commemorative Association for the Japan World Exposition (1970), Inoue Foundation for Science, The Japan Society for Aeronautical and Space Sciences, and Science University of Tokyo. The proposal to hold the symposium was accepted by the General Assembly of IUT AM held in Haifa, Israel, in August 1992, and the scientists mentioned below were appointed by the Bureau of IUTAM to serve as members of the Scientific Committee. The main object of the symposium was to make a general survey of recent developments in the research of constitutive relations in high and very high strain rates and related problems in high velocity solid mechanics, and to explore further new ideas for dealing with unresolved problems of a fundamental nature as well as of practical importance. The subjects covered theoretical, experimental, and numerical fields in the above-mentioned problems in solids, covering metals, polymers, ceramics, and composites. Emphasis was given to the following fields: 1. Material characterization of solids in high velocity deformation, experimental techniques, typical data obtained by these techniques, modeling, and constitutive relations 2. Strain rate dependent elasto-visco-plastic stress waves 3. Crack initiation, propagation, and dynamic fracture toughness 4. Dynamic stress concentration 5. Structural dynamics in impact and constitutive relations of solids 6.

The IUTAM Symposium on Macro- and Micro-Mechanics of High Velocity Deformation and Fracture (MMMHVDF) (August 12 - 15, 1985) was held at Science Council of Japan, under the sponsor ship of IUTAM, Science Council of Japan, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, The Commemorative Association for the Japan World Exposition (1970), and The Japan Society for Aeronautical and Space Sciences. The proposal of the symposium was accepted by the General Assembly of IUTAM, and the scientists mentioned below were appointed by the Bureau of IUTAM to serve as member of the Scientific Committee. The main object of the Symposium was to make a general survey of recent developments in the re search of high velocity solid mechanics and to explore further new ideas for dealing with unsettled problems, of fundamental nature as well as of practical importance. The subjects covered theoretical, experimental, and numerical fields in macro- and micro-mechanics associated with high velocity de formatio and fracture in soldis, covering metals, ceramics, polymers, and composites."

Thirty-five papers were presented at the International Symposium on Photoelasticity, Tokyo, 1986, representing fifty-five authors. Eighteen of these papers were presented by Japanese photoelasticians and seventeen by leading foreign authorities from eleven countries (Austria, Canada, Czechoslovakia, F.R. of Germany, France, Greece, India, Switzerland, UK, USA and USSR) * This is the first symposium on photoelasticity of international scope held in Japan. The primary objectives of this symposium are to help bridge the gap between photoelastic researchers around the world, to promote mutual understanding and communications and to facilitate exchange of newly acquired knowledge in theories and techniques. In addition, it is important that these valuable results are communicated effectively to engineers who can apply them in practice in industry. The papers presented at this symposium cover all branches of photo elasticity in a broad sense, including, in addition to long estab lished photoelasticity, newly developed moire, interferometric, and holographic photoelasticity, caustics and speckle. Therefore, from an optical stress analysis pe~spective, this volume is the latest compre hensive collection of photoelastic expertises.