This is a Minority Research Initiation (MRI) Planning Grant proposal. The proposed research is in the field of mathematics and will be concerned with graph transformations. In this study, a generalization of the line graph and the r-partial line graph will be considered. These studies have applications to the development of efficient computer programs for finding the components of a graph and computing the r-partial line graph. The Planning Grant will first allow the principal investigator to broaden his scientific horizons by providing funds for travel and release time so that he may visit other universities and attend as many conferences as possible. In addition, the planning process will include preliminary studies of problem formulations and solutions. These experiences will be incorporated, overall, in the development of a competitive proposal for submission to the MRI research initiation component.
