many of the conclusions presented here regarding science issues (Chapter 4) and educational issues (Chapter 5) pertain to both regimes.

This report should be viewed within the context set by the report Materials Science and Engineering for the 1990s (National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1989). Most if not all of the recommendations and findings in that report also apply here. Plasma processing is a key enabling technology for materials synthesis and modification. The recommendations made in this report necessarily emphasize the processing of materials for the electronics industry, and, in this sense, its coverage of new materials processing for the aerospace, automotive, and other industries is incomplete. The panel urges further assessment of these areas with respect to the role and criticality of plasma technology.