A conference on Metallurgical Effects at High Strain Rates was held at Albuquerque, New Mexico, February 5 through 8, 1973, under joint sponsorship of Sandia Laboratories and the Physical Metallurgy Committee of The Metallurgical Society of AIME. This book presents the written proceedings of the meeting. The purpose of the conference was to gather scientists from diverse disciplines and stimulate interdisciplinary discussions on key areas of materials response at high strain rates. In this spirit, it was similar to one of the first highly successful conferences on this subject held in 1960, in Estes Park, Colorado, on The Response of Metals to High Velocity Deformation. The 1973 conference was able to demonstrate rather directly the increased understanding of high strain rate effects in metals that has evolved over a period of roughly 12 years. In keeping with the interdisciplinary nature of the meeting, the first day was devoted to a tutorial session of invited papers to provide attendees of diverse backgrounds with a common basis of understanding. Sessions were then held with themes centered around key areas of the high strain rate behavior of metals.