9357396 Ryden The research to be involved in this grant will be a survey of the surface photometry of dwarf elliptical galaxies which will be used to compute the shapes and surface brightness of these galaxies. Dwarf ellipticals are distinctly different in their properties from ordinary elliptical galaxies. The dwarf ellipticals have lower surface brightness and smaller total luminosity. Because of these different properties, it is likely that these two different classes of elliptical galaxies have different formation and evolution histories. If, however, the distribution of the shapes of the two classes is indistinguishable, then this will be a strong indication that the present shapes of elliptical galaxies are a poor probe of their histories and initial conditions. ***
