Book and disk. This book deals with the application of a powerful set of techniques, collectively denominated Artificial Intelligence to general problems in the fields of the design, monitoring and control of thermal systems for energy conversion, with a heavier accent on design applications. As an introduction it gives some indications of the possible applications of AI in the area of the design and operation of thermal powerplants, and a tentative list of the actually implemented applications: the fact that the latter is much longer than the former is a sure symptom that the field of 'AI applications to Process Engineering' is in its infancy. Since AI techniques have been successfully and extensively employed in fields other than powerplant design, it is likely that the topics covered in this book will enjoy a rapid development in the near future. The dissemination of AI-related concepts in indeed one of the scopes of this essay.