The theory of plasticity has a broad range of applications in industry
and engineering. Its methods permit to devise metal processing, allow to
assess safety of structures against collapse, make possible to estimate
flow of bulk solids. The technological progress calls both for deeper
understanding of sources of plastic deformation and for more rigorous
description of mecha- nisms of plastic motion. It was felt at the
Institute of Fundamental Technological Research in Warsaw several years
ago that an international meeting bringing together experts in various
domains of plasticity and studying plastic behavior from different
positions could be of use for further development of the discipline
itself and for its service to society. The appropriate occasion for such
a meeting sponsored by the Polish Academy of Sciences was provided by
the 70th anniversary of Professor Wadaw Olszak. The idea of a
fundamentals oriented symposium was favorably received by the scientific
community over the world. Eminent scientists generously advised me as to
the scope of the meeting and helped in shaping the program. It was
eventually decided to concentrate the debates on a) physical foun-
dations of plasticity, b) thermodynamics of plastic and visco-plastic
deform- ation, c) experiments regarding plastic behavior, d)
mathematical methods in plasticity, e) computer techniques suitable for
solving important techno- logical problems. The selection of papers was
made accordingly. The symposium contributed papers were published in the
volume entitled 'Foundations of plasticIty' and in the 'Archives of
Mechanics' No.3, 1972.