Birth and Evolution of Massive Stars and Stellar Groups

Welcoming Address.- 1: Structure of Star-Forming Regions.- The structure of star-forming regions- the ages of subgroups and the progression of star formation (R).- The nearest molecular clouds (I).- Gould's Belt and supershells (I) (Abstract).- Distribution and motion of young nearby stars as a function of age.- 2: Stellar Content of Young Groups.- Observable consequences of star formation in molecular clouds (R).- Near-infrared spectra of 11 T Tauri stars.- The turn-on point of the Pleiades cluster.- Two AOV stars on the zero-age main-sequence in the association Cha I (P).- Stellar associations and the regions of active star formation in them (R).- Evolution of massive stars: observational evidence (I).- Double stars in young stellar groups (I).- Photometric age determination of OB-associations (I).- 3: Evolution of Massive Stars.- Evolution of binary stars and the problem of the runaway stars (R).- Supernovae and pulsars (I).- The identification of massive supernova progenitors (I).- A decade of photometric monitoring of ? Carinae and an interpretation of its variability.- Stellar evolution in the Magellanic Clouds.- IRAS observations of Wolf-Rayet Stars.- The role of convective overshooting in the evolution of intermediate mass stars.- The evolution of massive close binaries with mass loss and overshooting (P).- Formation mechanisms of various groups of luminous stars (P).- The kinematics of pulsars (I).- Interaction of supernovae with the interstellar medium.- The kinematics and origin of the runaway O-type stars (I).- Progenitor systems of two neutron-star binaries (P).- The progenitors of the local pulsar population (I).- 4: Extragalactic Perspective on Star Formation.- Formation of massive stars and the structure of galaxies (R).- Large-scale dissociation of molecular gas and star formation in M83 (I).- HI holes in the interstellar medium of Messier 31.- Star formation in the Magellanic Clouds (I).- Magellanic interstellar physics and star formation (I).- The starburst phenomenon.- Oscillations and bursts in star-formation rates.- 5: A Profile of Adriaan Blaauw.- Blaauw's scientific work (R).- Blaauw and the cosmic distance scale.- Professor A. Blaauw and the International Astronomical Union (I).- Personal reminiscences of Adriaan Blaauw (I).- Blaauw and the European Southern Observatory (I).- Adriaan Blaauw and the revival of Groningen Astronomy (I).- Bibliography of Adriaan Blaauw, 1939-1985.- Object Index.- Name Index.