INTRODUCTION.

The article focuses on "The Institute of Management Sciences" (TIMS) XIX International Meeting that has chosen as its topic one of the greatest contemporary challenges--the application of Management Science to Ecology and the Quality of Life. The meeting centers on sessions of a thematic nature, but also includes sessions sponsored by colleges, sessions with topics of specialized interest, simultaneous sessions and student paper sessions. Over 300 papers, many of outstanding import, were accepted for this meeting. These have been arranged in sixty-five sessions scheduled concurrently except for two separate simultaneous sessions. The first three sessions in each group develop the conference theme; of the remaining forty-four sessions, fifteen have been arranged by the TIMS Colleges. Each college is responsible for publicizing the details of its own sessions. This bulletin includes such information as is currently available. The committee solicited papers in these three general areas: management science practice and philosophy, applications of management science techniques, and mathematical programming. The papers in each of these areas are scheduled to avoid time overlaps when possible. The area of management science practice and philosophy receives major attention in the college sessions.