Volume 24 of Reviews in Mineralogy attempted to bring together the basic data and fundamental
theoretical constraints on magmatic processes with applications to specific problems in igneous
petrology. The Mineralogical Society of America (MSA) sponsored the short course on Modern
Methods of Igneous Petrolgy: Understanding Magmatic Processes at the Cathedral Hill Hotel in
San Francisco California in December 1990. It was organized by the editors Jim Nicholls and
Kelly Russell and presented by the authors of this volume to about 80 participants in
conjunction with the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union.
