On the Evolution of Phase Boundaries

This IMA Volume in Mathematics and its Applications ON THE EVOLUTION OF PHASE BOUNDARIES is based on the proceedings of a workshop which was an integral part of the 1990- 91 IMA program on "Phase Transitions and Free Boundaries". The purpose of the workshop was to bring together mathematicians and other scientists working on the Stefan problem and related theories for modeling physical phenomena that occurs in two phase systems. We thank M.E. Gurtin and G. McFadden for editing the proceedings. We also take this opportunity to thank the National Science Foundation, whose financial support made the workshop possible. A vner Friedman Willard Miller, Jr. PREFACE A primary goal of the IMA workshop on the Evolution of Phase Boundaries from September 17-21, 1990 was to emphasize the interdisciplinary nature of contempo rary research in this field, research which combines ideas from nonlinear partial dif ferential equations, asymptotic analysis, numerical computation, and experimental science. The workshop brought together researchers from several disciplines, includ ing mathematics, physics, and both experimental and theoretical materials science.