9420631 Weinberg An investigation will be performed of two important anomalies regarding the crystallization of sol-gel derived materials. These are; the observed crystallization of some powders and bulk materials at temperatures well below the usual glass transition temperature, and the tendency of certain sol-gel thin films to crystallize well in excess of the powder (or bulk) crystallization kinetics of highly porous, large surface area sol gel materials in order to shed light on these anaomalies. %%% Experimental studies of the crystallization behavior of gels in bulk and film form as a function of preparation procedure and substrate type will be done and theoretical modeling of the crystallization kinetics will be tested. ***