This volume represents a collection of selected papers presented at a symposium of the same name sponsored by the Division of Colloid and Surface Chemistry held at the national Spring meeting of the American Chemical Society in Las Vegas, Nevada, March 29 - April 1, 1982. Also included are invited papers from a number of outstanding overseas liquid crystal scientists who were unable to attend the symposium. The attendance at the symposium itself and the number of papers contained herein is reflective of the high level of current interest in (and maturity of) the field of liquid crystal research. Included in this volume are papers mainly derived from the fields of chemistry and physics ranging in content from the design and synthesis of new meso genic materials to theoretical physical treatments of anisotropic liquids. One of the significant aspects of current liquid crystal research is the increasing col­ laboration between chemist and phys.icist. The overlap of these two areas has been growing over the last several years and many contri­ butions to this volume involve a molecular approach to the chemical physics of liquid crystalline materials.