In 1992 a proposal by the Iowa State University experimental nuclear physics group entitled Relativistic Heavy Ion Physics'' was funded by the US Department of Energy, Office of Energy Research, for a three-year period beginning November 15, 1991. This is a progress report for the first six months of that period but, in order to give a wider perspective, we report here on progress made since the beginning of calendar year 1991. In the first section, entitled Purpose and Trends,'' we give some background on the recent trends in our research program and its evolution from an emphasis on nuclear structure physics to its present emphasis on relativistic heavy ion and RHIC physics. The next section, entitled, Physics Research Programs,'' is divided into three parts. First, we discuss our participation in the program to develop a large detector named PHENIX for the RHIC accelerator. Second, we outline progress made in the study of electromagnetic dissociation (ED). A highlight of this endeavor is experiments carried out with the {sup 197}Au beam from the AGS accelerator in April 1991. Third, we discuss progress in completion of our nuclear structure studies. In the final section a list of publications, invited talks and contributedmore » talks starting in 1991 is given.« less