It is now thirty-four years since the 1st International Conference on Cloud Physics was held in Switzerland. The 1988 conference marks the tenth in this series of conferences. On this occasion it is perhaps appropriate to glance back to our origins, to reflect on the current situation, and to look to the future.
* Speech given at the 10th International Cloud Physics Conference, Bad Homburg, FRG, August 15–20, 1988. The author is president of the International Commission on Cloud Physics, which organizes the quadrennial International Cloud Physics Conferences. A summary report on the 10th International Cloud Physics Conference is given on pages 286–296 of this issue of the Bulletin. Part II of this paper, which will be concerned with a more detailed assessment of recent accomplishments in cloud physics research and some of the outstanding problems that need to be addressed, will appear in a future issue of the Bulletin.
