[en] The title describes the two tasks summarized in this report. The remainder of the report contains information on meetings held or to be held on the subjects. The US National Committee for Rock Mechanics (USNC/RM) provides for US participation in international activities in rock mechanics, principally through adherence to the International Society for Rock Mechanics (ISRM). It also keeps the US rock mechanics community informed about new programs directed toward major areas of national concern in which rock mechanics problems represent critical or limiting factors, such as energy resources, excavation, underground storage and waste disposal, and reactor siting. The committee also guides or produces advisory studies and reports on problem areas in rock mechanics. A new panel under the auspices of the US National Committee for Rock Mechanics has been appointed to conduct a study on Conceptual Models of Fluid Infiltration in Fractured Media. The study has health and environmental applications related to the underground flow of pollutants through fractured rock in and around mines and waste repositories. Support of the study has been received from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy's Yucca Mountain Project Office. The new study builds on the success of a recent USNC/RM report entitled Rock Fractures and Fluid Flow: Contemporary Understanding and Applications (National Academy Press, 1996, 551 pp.). A summary of the new study is provided