The editors have pleasure in presenting this volume of our review series. We have specialised in three areas: perturbation Monte Carlo, non-linear kinetics and the transfer of radioactive fluids in rocks. These contributions are linked, however, in the demands for optimising complex systems that are a feature of the scale of nuclear power production. Kuniharu Kishida's account of Japanese thinking in the application of modern non-linear theory to reactor kinetics and control comes at a time when the community of control scholars is seeking how to apply the new ideas that have led to the prominence of chaos theory to our field. Pr- lems of maintenance in power reactors are as severe as ever and must be solved for credibility to characterise any new program. As much as 30% of unanticipated down-time, for example, is due to the failure of motor op- ated valves. We need a theory to provide for preventive maintenance. This in turn depends heavily on on-line monitoring to anticipate failure as well as expert systems to schedule preventive treatment. Noise theory with its promise of on-line interpretation of information from inchoate breakdown is the key. It is all too likely that the need to deal with major departures makes a non-linear theory of noise essential. We can be grateful that P- fessor Kishida has provided us with such a consistent account.

Autorentext
Martin Becker, geboren 1957 im südlichen Hochland von Tansania, besuchte dort ein englisches Internat. Mit zehn Jahren reiste er mit der Familie nach Deutschland aus.
Die Jugend verbrachte er in Gemmingen und in Büsingen am Rhein, wo er nach dem Gymnasium die berufliche Laufbahn in der Schweiz einschlug.
Nach dem Zivildienst in Heidelberg zog Becker nach München. Er lebt heute bei Landsberg/Lech und ist freiberuflich im Großraum München tätig.

Inhalt
Contraction of Information and Its Inverse Problem in Reactor System Identification and Stochastic Diagnosis.- Stochastic Perturbation Analysis Applied to Neutral Particle Transport.- Radionuclide Transport in Fractured Rock: an Analogy with Neutron Transport.