ogy, architecture, biology, economics, education, ge- ography, humanities, law, medicine, nursing, nutri- tion, psychology, recreation, sociology, and other fields. Courses in gerontology are available in many of the above areas. The Center sponsors special conferences on geron- tology and several in-service training workshops and seminars for academic and continuing education credit. Through the University Presses of Florida, the Center publishes conference proceedings, statistical reports, and scholarly books on gerontological sub- jects. For information about the Center's graduate pro- gram, write to the Graduate Program Coordinator, Center for Gerontological Studies, 3357 General Purpose Building A. CENTER FOR HEALTH POLICY RESEARCH The Center conducts and facilitates collaborative interdisciplinary studies focusing on issues relating to laws, rules and regulations, or other policies gener- ated at the state or federal level which affect the manner in which health care services are.delivered, funded, administered, or regulated. Faculty and stu- dents from a broad spectrum of disciplines are en- couraged through, the Center to participate in or- ganized research activities funded through state or federal sources or to provide short-term technical as- sistance on specific policy concerns. A goal of the Center is to develop and maintain data bases and models which can be utilized to assist in the analysis of existing and proposed policy alter- natives under a variety of potential future scenarios. Research and analyses are guided by the principle that better health care legislation and more effective and efficient health services delivery will result by an- ticipating the legal, administrative, economic, social and ethical consequences of health policy changes. For information, write to Director, Center, for Health Policy Research, Box J-177, J. Hillis Miller Health Cen- ter. INSTITUTE OF HIGHER EDUCATION The Institute of Higher Education is an agency within the College of Education, responsible at the same time to the Vice President for Academic Affairs, and is defined as a research and service agency of the University focused upon higher education. Operating under the Institute are several organizational struc- tures: The Florida Community College Interinstitu- tional Research Council, a consortium of community colleges in Florida with focus upon institutional and system-wide research; the Community College Lead- ership Program with a focus on developing and improving administrative leadership in community colleges; the State Leadership Program in Higher Edu- cation, a partnership program with Florida State Uni- versity, for preparing and improving state agency staff personnel; and special projects of both research and service orientation which are assigned from time to time, often on a contract basis. Many advanced graduate students find research projects of their own interests among the many ac- tivities of the IHE. For information, write the Director, Institute of Higher Education. CENTER FOR INFORMATION RESEARCH The Center (CIR) is responsible for directing, coor- dinating, and conducting advanced studies and re- INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH CENTERS / 39 search activities in computer and information system sciences as they apply to multiple disciplines. The Center is staffed by scholars and scientists drawn from many academic disciplines represented at the University. The interdisciplinary nature of the CIR creates a stimulating environment for basic and ap- plied research to seek new insights into and optimal solutions to engineering, physical, biological, medi- cal, management, environmental, and social prob- lems. The Center staff is concerned with solving time- ly and relevant problems by using modern computer technology and the latest developments in informa- tion science. The Center's recent'emphasis has been on computer-based advanced automation and knowledge engineering. The primary functions of CIR are (1) to conduct re- search in developing the theory and techniques for the design of computer systems and software to solve contemporary problems created by knowledge ex- plosion; (2) to develop advanced technology for the design of computer-based automation for factory and office operations; (3) to assist industry, as well as state and federal governments, in augmenting productivity via innovative applications of computer technology. and intelligent machines; (4) to initiate and coordi- nate interdisciplinary attacks on complex technolog- ical, socioeconomic, and health problems; and (5) to provide internship opportunities for graduate stu- dents in information science, computer technology, production automation, and related areas. The research laboratories are equipped with a PDP 11/40 computer system, an Optronics P-1000 pre- cision microdensitometer, a DeAnza IP 5000 image ar- ray processor and-high resolution color display, the Graphic 1 interactive graphics system, a pictorial data acquisition computer (PIDAC), a CDC mass storage system, and a Trilog Color Printer/Plotter. In addition, the Center maintains a large software library repre- senting many years of research and applications in the areas of pattern recognition, image processing, database management, knowledge transfer, robotics and CAD/CAM. Center-developed intelligent sys- tems include the generalized information retrieval system, Telebrowsing, the Medical Knowledge Sys- tem (MEDIKS), the Universal Image Processing Sys- tem (UNIPS), the Agricultural Productivity Improve- ment Knowledge System (APRIKS), the Automatic Typewriter Identification System (ATIS) and the CIR Knowledge Utilization System (CIRKUS). The signifi- cant software resources of the Center allow re- searchers to develop new applications with a mini- mum software development effort. The Center sponsors the International Symposia on Computer and Information Science (COINS Sym- posia), cooperates with other University units in or- ganizing and conducting conferences, seminars, short courses and developmental programs in information science, computer technology, and advanced auto- mation, and supports publication of scholarly books, monograph series, and an international journal on computer and information science. Graduate student support is provided through re- search assistantships at all levels of graduate study. In- quiries about the various programs and activities of the CIR should be addressed to the Director, Center for Information Research, 339 Larsen Hall. CENTER FOR MACROMOLECULAR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING The Center is developing a unified research and