It is a pleasure to write a few words as an introduction to the proceedings of the 1980 NATO ASI on "Physical Processes in Laser- Naterial Interaction." This ASI is the ninth course of a series devoted to lasers and their applications, held under the responsibility of the Quantum Electronics Division of the European Physical Society, and for this reason known as the "Europhysics School of Quantum Electronics." Since 1971 the School has been operating...