The many facets of current work in nuclear magnetic resonance for fluids in heterogeneous systems

In the late 1980s, there were definite signs that the time was ripe for a direct exchange of experiences and ideas of groups who, independently and often by very different routes, were working on NMR for heterogeneous systems. At a time when NMR techniques were being applied on an increasingly wide scale in various fields from biomedical to oil, the idea of a meeting based on an interdisciplinary approach was suggested by historic circumstances. The explosive growth of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and relaxation for fluids in porous media, and the interdisciplinary approach adopted, determined the success of the First International Meeting on NMR Applications to Porous Media held in Bologna, from 14th to 16th November 1990. Many facets characterized and still characterize the work on MR for fluids in porous media. The distance normally separating purely scientific research from its possible technological fall-out is reduced. The wide range of applications induce specialists with different backgrounds to compare their experiences in a constructive way and often to work together. This does not mean reducing the research work of biologists, physicists, chemists, physicians, and reservoir engineers to the same criteria and methods of analysis; rather it means looking for unifying ideas, together with the critical transfer of techniques. Also, NMR offers an example of the possibility of a fruitful cooperation between industry and university.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)