Electrons and photons colliding with atoms: development and application of the convergent close-coupling method

The substantial progress that has occurred during the 1990s in the field of electron-atom-collision theory is discussed. We show how a solution of a small-model three-body problem, using the convergent close-coupling method, has led to numerous applications involving real atomic collision systems. Consequently many fundamental electron-atom collision processes are considered as 'solved', and accurate collision data of interest to science and industry have become available. However, we suggest that the present has only just seen the birth of modern atomic collision theory. There are many more important collision problems to be tackled, with guidance coming from experiment being as important as ever. (author)