This volume records a conference on the theme of microbial growth and population dynamics which was held to mark the retirement of Professor S. John Pirt from the University of London. Contributors- students, collaborators and friends of John Pirt- cover different aspects of microbial growth. This research impinges on many aspects of microbe and cell physiology, and has important implications in industry and biotechnology; an understanding of the growth conditions
and patterns of microbial populations can lead to a strategy for discouraging or optimising such growth. A general overview of the subject introduces the book and is followed by discussions of the growth of mycelia, biophysics of wall growth, diffusion limited growth, energetics of growth at low rates,
kinetics of secondary metabolite production, microbial population stability and optimization stategies.