A M Stefanini - Böcker

These proceedings review the present status and perspectives of research in this field which is currently of broad interest to the community of nuclear physicists.Many facets of fusion dynamics were discussed, ranging from energies well below the Coulomb barrier to higher energies. Various questions about compound nucleus decay were also addressed, and evidence of links between fusion, competing reactions and nuclear structures was presented: some talks concerned the superdeformed structures recently discovered in many nuclei. Part of the workshop was devoted to the fusion of very heavy systems, and to the production of superheavy elements. One session focused on fusion reactions with radioactive ion beams.