IAU Symposium Number 52 on Interstellar Dust and Related Topics was held at Albany, N.Y., on the campus of the State University of New York at Albany from May 29 to June 2, 1972. The members of the Organizing Committee were: Dr A. D. Code, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis., U.S.A. Dr B. D. Donn, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., U.S.A. Dr A. Elvius, Stockholm Observatory, Saltsjobaden, Sweden. Dr T. Gehrels, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz., U.S.A. Dr J. M. Greenberg (Chairman), State University of New York at Albany, Albany, N.Y., U.S.A. Dr H. C. van de Hulst, Sterrewacht, Leiden, Holland. Dr S. B. Pikel'ner, Sternberg Astronomical Institute, Moscow, U.S.S.R. Dr E. E. Salpeter, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., U.S.A. Dr B. E. Turner, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, Va., U.S.A. The suggestion was first made in 1971 that a symposium on interstellar grains would be timely. The response to the first preliminary announcement, which was sent out on November 29, 1971, was well beyond our expectations. The meeting was locally sponsored by the State University and by Dudley Observatory. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Science Foundation con­ tributed along with the IAU. There were 158 participants of whom 49 were from 15 countries outside the United States. A total of 92 papers were presented.

Table of Contents:
I / Extinction.- Some Scattering Problems of Interstellar Grains(A Prologue).- Variations of Interstellar Ultra-Violet Absorption.- OAO-2 Observations of the Near Ultraviolet Extinction Feature.- The Ratio of Total to Selective Absorption in the Directions of Selected Planetary Nebulae.- The Ratio of Total to Selective Absorption from the Cluster Diameter Method.- The U, B, V, R, and I Extinctions in Four Areas of the Southern Coalsack.- Interstellar Dust: Observations in the Ultraviolet and Their Interpretations.- A Kramers-Kronig Analysis of Interstellar Extinction.- II / Diffuse Features.- A Search for Diffuse Interstellar Features in Stars with Circumstellar Dust Shells.- Diffuse Interstellar Features in the Spectra of Dust-Embedded Stars.- Polarization Profile Near the 4430 Band.- Broadband Structure in the Interstellar Extinction Curve.- A Study of the Interstellar Diffuse Absorption Features.- III / Reflection Nebulae and Diffuse Galactic Light.- Surface Polarimetry of the Milky Way.- Dust Grains in Reflection Nebulae.- The Ultraviolet Surface Brightness of Reflection Nebulae and the Albedo of Interstellar Grains.- Southern Reflection Nebulae.- Depolarization Effect in Reflection Nebulae.- Elliptical Polarization by Light Scattering by Submicron Spheroids.- A Surface Polarization Survey of the Milky Way and the Zodiacal Light.- IV / Interstellar Polarization.- Interstellar Polarization (Review).- Development of Photographic Techniques for Photometry and Polarimetry of Faint Stars in the R-IR Region.- Interstellar Circular Polarization and the Composition of Interstellar Dust.- Discovery of Interstellar Circular Polarization in the Direction of the Crab Nebula.- Interstellar Circular Polarization of Upper Scorpius Stars.- Alignments of Dust Grains by Magnetic Relaxation: A Comparison Between Results Obtained by Two Different Methods.- A Search for Infrared Polarization in the Galactic Center.- Photon and Magnetic Alignment of Interstellar Dust Grains.- The Differential Polarization of Starlight as a Function of Distance.- Polarization of Light by Dust in Galaxies.- V / Distribution of Dust and Gas.- Dust Near the Nucleus of M 31.- A Study of the Distribution of Interstellar Matter.- Dust and Neutral Hydrogen in the Region of IC 1396.- The Association of Dust and Hi Gas.- Galactic Dust Distribution in the Solar Neighborhood.- Observations of Atomic Hydrogen in Dense Interstellar Dust Clouds.- The Correlation of Interstellar Reddening and L? Absorption.- Gas and Dust in Interstellar Clouds.- On the Genetic Relation Between Interstellar Clouds and Dust Clouds.- Interstellar Reddening at High Galactic Latitudes.- The 4830 MHz Formaldehyde Line Observations of Dark Clouds in IC 1795 (W3).- Molecular Distributions in Galactic Sources.- VI / Physical Processes, Theory and Experiment.- Cosmic X-Rays and Interstellar Dust.- Optical Measurements on Solids of Possible Interstellar Importance.- Optical and Photoemission Properties of Graphite Grains.- The Thermal Accommodation Coefficient of Graphite.- Spectroscopic Simulation of Diffuse Interstellar Lines and a Laboratory Model for Interstellar Chemical Synthesis.- A Laboratory Experiment on the Nucleation of Interstellar Dusts.- Optical and Chemical Studies on Simulated Interstellar Grain Materials.- Photoelectric Emission from Interstellar Grains.- Destruction of Dirty Ice Mantles by Sputtering.- Ejection of Grains from Cool Stars.- VII / Molecules, Theory and Observations.- Some Implications of the Distribution of Interstellar Molecules (Review).- Abundances of Interstellar Moleculesand Their Formation on Grain Surfaces.- Exploding Interstellar Grains and Complex Molecules.- The Surprising Constancy of Relative Chemical Abundances in Different Regions of Interstellar Space — Particularly for Formaldehyde.- Cyanoacetylene: New Lines and Sources in the Galaxy.- Chemical Evolution of Dense Clouds.- Formation Mechanism for Interstellar Molecules.- The Distribution of Interstellar Molecules in Dust Clouds as Derived from Laboratory Experiments.- Stellar Atmospheres: The Sources of Interstellar Molecules.- Photodesorption from Interstellar Dust Grains.- VIII / Dust and H ii Regions.- Interferometric Studies of OH Sources Associated with H ii Regions and IR Objects.- Dust, Star, and Hydrogen Distributions in the Orion Association.- Dust in H ii Regions.- Low Resolution Spectrum of the Orion Nebula in the 60–300? Range.- New Infrared Sources Associated with H ii Regions.- Physical Study of a Bright Rim in the Horsehead Nebula.- Dust in the Large Magellanic Cloud.- The Mixing of Neutral Gas and Dust with the Ionized Gas of H ii Regions.- IX / Circumstellar Dust.- Circumstellar Infrared Emission. I: The Circumstellar Origin of Interstellar Dust (Review).- Radiative Transfer in Circumstellar Dust Clouds.- Dust Particles and Molecules in the Extended Atmospheres of Carbon Stars.- Infrared Observations of Stars in the Association Cyg OB2.- X / Miscellaneous.- A Statistical Model for the Cloud Structure of the Interstellar Medium.- Interstellar Grains in Museums?.- Dust and Star Formation.- Rocket Measurements of the Galactic Background at 100?.- Concluding Remarks.- A Quick Review of Interstellar Grains.- Discussions.