Abstract: This report is the result of an in-depth review of the recent technical literature on expert systems,. The material contained in this report provided a basis for assessing the potential for using expert systems in emergency management operations. In choosing the material for inclusion in this report, special emphasis was placed on those aspects of expert systems which addressed the types of problems encountered in emergency management operations. The report is designed for use as a resource document and as a tutorial on expert systems and emergency management. Each chapter consists of a brief topic essay followed by a set of references which expand on the main themes of the essay.

Abstract: The First Symposium on The Theory and Application of Expert Systems in Emergency Management, held at the Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C. (April 24 and 25, 1985) was funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and organized by the National Bureau of Standards' Operations Research Division. The purpose of the symposium was to bring together researchers in expert systems, artificial intelligence, and emergency operations in a forum to review the concepts of expert systems and the problems of emergency management, with the objective of determining how expert systems can be used to augment the experience of local, State and Federal emergency managers faced with the difficult tasks of determining the best response to an emergency situation. Speakers addressed the following areas: The theory and uncertainty aspects of expert systems, artificial intelligence's future role in emergency management, technology for building and using expert systems, emergency management decisions and information needs and uses, applications of expert systems in the management of chemical spills and shipboard and coal mine fires, and the role and use of simulation in emergency management expert systems.

This document contains the Proceedings of the Sixth NBS/NCSBCS Joint Conference on Research and Innovation in the Building Regulatory Process, held on September 11, 1984, in Denver, CO. This conference addressed streamlined administrative procedures, computers in construction, and fire safety technology. These Proceedings contain the 10 papers selected for presentation at the conference.

In October, 1986, the 10th U.S.-German Seminar of State and Planning on Environmental Specimen Banking was held at the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences in Gloucester Point, Virginia. At this meeting the current status of specimen banking activities in the U. S., FRG, Canada, and Japan was presented and discussed. This publication contains the proceedings of that meeting with contributions describing various activities related to banking and analysis of samples from aquatic, atmospheric, terrestrial, and human monitoring programs.