The traveler attended the Ninth International Conference on Gas Discharges and Their Applications, which was held in Venice, Italy, on September 19--23, 1988; presented two papers, (1) Ion Chemistry in SF{sub 6} Corona'' and (2) Production of S{sub 2}F{sub 10} by SF{sub 6} Spark Discharge''; and participated in numerous discussions with conference participants on gas discharges related to his work on SF{sub 6}. The traveler visited the Centre de Physique Atomique at the University Paul Sabatier in Toulouse, France, to discuss with Dr. J. Casanovas his work on SF{sub 6} decomposition. Following that visit, the traveler visited the Laboratoire de Photoelectricite at the University of Dijon to discuss with Dr. J.-P. Goudonnet his work on surface studies and on the use of tunneling electron spectroscopy for the chemical analysis of surfaces.