THIRD MINSK INTERNATIONAL HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER FORUM

On May 20-24, 1996 the city of Minsk (Academic Scientific Complex 
"A. V. Luikov Heat and Mass Transfer Institute of the Academy 
of Sciences of Belarus") hosted for the tenth time scientists 
and experts working in heat and mass transfer research and practical 
applications of its results. 

Begun in 1961 on A. V. Luikov's initiative as All-Union Conferences, 
these meetings of scientists, convened every fourth year since then, 
have become world famous and internationally recognized, which is 
reflected in its present name "Minsk International Heat and 
Mass Transfer Forum" (the first, in 1988, the second, in 1992, 
and the third, in 1996). The latter turned out to be especially 
appropriate when many independent states, former Soviet Republics, 
arose in place of the dissolved Soviet Union.

Convening this Forum, its organizers (Academy of Sciences 
of the Republic of Belarus; Department of Physico-Technical Problems 
of Power, Russian Academy of Sciences; National Heat and Mass Transfer 
Committee, Russian Academy of Sciences; A. V. Luikov Heat and Mass 
Transfer Institute; Ministry of Fuel and Power of the Republic of 
Belarus; Belarusian Institute of Information and Forecast of the 
President's Administration of the Republic of Belarus) understood the 
importance of the Forum for scientists, especially those from these 
new states whose science has recently proved to be in extremely serious 
condition because of meager financing, a dearth of information, breaking 
of scientific ties, etc.

The interest and enthusiasm exhibited by the scientists 
when they learned about the forthcoming Forum showed that the decision 
to convene it was right.

The structure of the Forum was the following: two plenary sessions, 
six morning plenary lectures of leading scientists, 11 simultaneous 
section meetings covering the main sections of heat and mass transfer 
science (Convective Heat and Mass Transfer, Radiative and Composite 
Heat Transfer, Heat and Mass Transfer in Chemically Reacting Systems, 
Heat and Mass Transfer in Two-Phase Systems, Heat and Mass Transfer 
in Disperse Systems, Heat and Mass Transfer in Rheological Systems, 
Heat and Mass Transfer in Capillary-Porous Bodies, Heat and Mass 
Transfer in Drying Processes, Computer Experiments in Heat and Mass 
Transfer Problems, Heat and Mass Transfer in Power Installations and 
Energy Conservation, Heat and Mass Transfer in Chemical Engineering 
Installations), and two roundtables (Molecular-Kinetic Fundamentals 
of Transfer Theory, and Heat and Mass Transfer and the Evironment).

The program of the Forum included 11 plenary lectures and 
733 papers presented at sessions, which included 68 keynote papers 
and 215 posters.

Sections papers were submitted by scientists from almost all states 
of the former Soviet Union: 397 papers from Russia, 123 from Ukraine, 
88 from Belarus, 10 from Kazakhstan, 7 from Lithuania, 5 from Uzbekistan, 
4 from Latvia, 3 from Moldova, 2 from Azerbaidzhan, 2 from Estonia, 
1 from Georgia; 28 papers were submitted by scientists from Belgium, 
Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, Israel, China, Czesh Republic, Yugoslavia, 
Japan, 20, by joint research groups (Belarus-USA, Germany, Japan, 
Great Britain, Israel, Bulgaria, Mongolia, Korea; Ukraine-Great 
Britain, USA; Russia-Bulgaria, Mongolia, Mexico).

415 participants attended the Forum.

Along with leading scientific centers of Russia (Institute of High 
Temperatures, Russian Academy of Sciences; Institute of Mathematical 
Modeling, Russian Academy of Sciences; Institute of Thermal Physics, 
Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, university science 
was widely represented at the Forum.

The Forum revealed several trends in heat and mass transfer science 
that have recently attracted more and more attention of scientists. 
These are problems of energy-conservation, the environment, and 
biological objects (humans).

The work of the roundtables was very effective, which confirmed 
the importance of the topics chosen by the Organizing Committee for 
discussion.

The program of the Forum was entered on the Internet. By 
the opening of the Forum, section papers and communications 
(250 printed sheets) were published in 11 volumes (including 
4 volumes in two parts) and a book of abstracts (in English).

Plenary lectures and keynote papers, which were not included 
in the above volumes, and materials of the roundtables are 
published in the present special issue of Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii 
Zhurnal.

Participants in the Forum noted that its organizers were 
able to maintain the high creative and organizational level 
inherent in Minsk Forums and expressed their hope that this 
meeting of scientists will be regularly convened in the future.

N. V. Pavlyukevich and I. G. Gurevich