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I like Chris's digression--with a further note from Glenn--very much. Of course, it is not a digression at all. There is a profound difference between understanding the principles of an art and being able to practice the art well. One of the challenges for teachers is to conduct research into the principles of design and then give equally careful attention to how the understanding of principles is reformulated into educational practice. In fact, the latter is certainly a legitimate area of research in its own right, as we well know. One point to consider is the change that is now taking place in design education. In the past, many schools offered little more than a slightly modified apprentice experience--comparable in many ways to on-the-job training. And the faculty were often adjuncts, with loads of practical experience--and sometimes without the interest, ability, or skill to extract from their practical experience true principles of design. Today, we find more faculty who are prepared and interested (in some cases by institutional pressure) to conduct research. But the danger is that the study of design principles (research) may, for a time, lead to a weakening of practical design education. As we grow more sophisticated, I hope we will see equal attention given to teaching. So, there are dangers on both sides--overemphasis on apprenticeship experience in schools and overemphasis on research. Perhaps this is one reason that the conference in Perth this December is so important. The theme is undergraduate design education in a university setting. Frankly, it is the often unremarked move of design education into universities that has contributed significantly to widespread interest in design research. Understanding the culture of university education--and how we may use it properly to advance design, without weakening design--is very important at this point. That is one of several reasons why I think the Perth conference is quite important in the scheme of things. And why I think it is a very appropriate balance to our Ph.D. conferences. Dick %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%