Generalizations of the Lanczos derivative provide a basis for certain grid-
free Finite Interpolation Methods (FIMs) which appear to have advantages ov
er alternatives such as the standard Finite Difference Methods (FDMs) or Fi
nite Element Methods (FEMs) for certain problems, e.g., hypervelocity impac
t problems in computational material dynamics. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science In
c. All rights reserved.