Book excerpt: This monograph consists of manuscripts, summary statements, and poster abstracts submitted by invited speakers and poster contributors who participated in the symposium "Oxygen Complexes and Oxygen Activation by Transition Metals," held March 23-26, 1987, at Texas A&M University. This meeting was the fifth annual international symposium sponsored by the Texas A&M Industry-University Cooperative Chemistry Program (IUCCP). The co chairmen of the conference were Professors Arthur E. Martell and Donald T. Sawyer of the Texas A&M University Chemistry Department. The program was developed by an academic-industrial steering committee consisting of the co-chairmen and members appointed by the sponsoring chemical companies Dr. James F. Bradzil, The Standard Oil Company, Ohio; Dr. Jerry R. Ebner, Monsanto Company; Dr. Craig Murchison, Dow Chemical Company; Dr. Donald C. Olsen, Shell Development Company; Dr. Tim R. Ryan, Celanese Chemical Company; and Dr. Ron Sanderson, Texaco Chemical Company. The subject of this conference reflects the intense interest that has developed in academic institutions and industry on several aspects of dioxygen chemistry. These include the formation of dioxygen complexes and their applications in facilitated transport and oxygen separation; homo geneous and heterogeneous catalysis of oxidation; and oxygenation of organic substrates by molecular oxygen. The conference differs in two respects from several other symposia on dioxygen chemistry held during the past few years. First, there is extensive industrial participation, especially with respect to oxygen activation.