This volume contains most of the invited lectures delivered as part of the Symposium on “Non-classical Continuum Mechanics, Abstract Techniques and Applications” held in the University of Durham from 2 – 12th July, 1986. The meeting was under the auspices of the London Mathematical Society with financial support generously provided by the Science and Engineering Research Council of Great Britain. To these organisations and also to the University of Durham (including staff of the Department of Mathematics and of Grey College) grateful thanks are extended on behalf of all participants and members of the Organising Committee. Sincere thanks are also due to Mrs P. Hampton (Heriot-Watt University) and Mrs S. Cuttle (University of Durham) who admirably coped with the secretarial and administrative burdens.

One objective of the Symposium was to provide the opportunity for interaction between two broad trends now discernible in continuum mechanics which respectively emphasise applications and rigorous mathematical analysis. The mutual enrichment of these two developments requires frequent exchange of information and thanks to the right note struck in the formal addresses this certainly occurred at the Durham meeting. Indeed, all contributors are to be commended for ensuring that their presentations were readily accessible to both groups thus helping to further the aims of the organisers. This in turn has resulted in the present volume containing articles which besides being accounts of recent progress should also be of wide interest to the specialist and non-specialist alike.