The increasing problem of unemployment among technical professionals from the aerospace and defense industry and their general lack of employment opportunities dictated a need for study of potential profitable expansion of use of these personnel in other areas. Also, recommendations were needed for developing mechanisms to start the transition of available personnel into the new jobs. The National Society of Professional Engineers, the contracting agency, worked with six cooperating engineering societies to conduct the study. A project approach was chosen with 14 research teams, one in each location of critical technological unemployment, that reported to a project manager. Related chapters are announced as VT 018 435-018 451 in this issue. (Author)