This report is concerned with some of the interdependent variables of great importance to sol-gel processing. Opportunities for new applications and new products are encouraging. Examples such as glass and ceramic fibers, coatings and films, porous solids and microballoons, nuclear fuels, radioactive waste encapsulation, and electronically conductive gels were cited in the First International Conference on Ultrastructure Processing of Ceramics, Glasses and Composites. Examines the role of solvents, catalysts, additives, and temperature in sol-gel processing. -- AATA