The aim of materials science research in space is to use the unique experimental environment to study fundamental phenomena during solidification of melts, crystal growth, combustion and to determine thermophysical properties of fluids. Fluid physics is one of the best developed fields of microgravity research. A large number of mu-experiments are related to interface and convection, and multiphase phenomena. Microgravity experimentation in combustion offers a variety of simplifications compared to experiments done at Earth's gravity. These include a reduction of dimensionality, the inhibition of settling effects for multiphase phenomena, and a substantial reduction of buoyancy forces. Understanding the roles of buoyancy-driven convection, sedimentation, and hydrostatic pressure in the processing of alloys, composites, ceramics and polymers is of particular importance to materials scientists. Biotechnology encompasses the sciences based on molecular biology and the technological developments needed to convert inventions into products. The 41 papers contained in this volume represent a selection of those presented at the above meeting. The book is intended to fluid physicists, material scientists and biotechnologists.

Table of Contents:
Part 1 Fluid science: a review on the stability of liquid bridges, J. Meseguer et al; dynamics of axisymmetric slender liquid bridges in isorotation, D. Rivas and J.M. Vega; hydrothermal wave instability of thermocapillary driven convection in a plane layer subjected to a uniform magnetic field, J. Priede and G. Gerbeth; effects of high frequency vibration on critical marangoni number, H. Tang and W.R. Hu; thermo- and solutocapillary convection in a cylindrical liquid bridge - stability of steady axisymmetric flow, M. Wanschura et al; an investigation on the "onset" of oscillatory marangoni flow, C. Albanese et al; hydrodynamic experiments in microgravity on board MIR space station, E.L. Kaliazin and A.A. Kozlov; a flow pattern map for two-phase liquid-gas flows under reduced gravity conditions, K.S. Rezkallah and L. Zhao. Part 2 Combustion: application of UV-laser-diagnostics to combustion research under zero-gravity, J. Konig et al; high pressure vaporization and burning of methanol droplets in reduced gravity, C. Chauveau et al. Part 3 Materials science: cellular and dendritic solidification of Al-Li alloys during the D2-mission, B. Drevet et al; space flight data from the isothermal dendritic growth experiment, M.E. Glicksman et al; gallium arsenide crystal growth from metallic solution under microgravity, Y. Suzuki et al; thermomigration experiment on board EURECA, J.P. Praizey et al. Part 4 Biotechnology: behavioural changes in paramecium and didnium exposed to short-term microgravity and hypergravity, R. Braucker; gravity effects on connective tissue biosynthesis by cultured mesenchymal cells, U. Seitzer et al; analysis of aggregation mechanism of erythrocytes under normal- and microgravity conditions, M. Singh et al.