This study was part of a multireactor project on rapid shale pyrolysis. The work presented here is a progress report on a major phase of the flash lamp work. A flash lamp reactor was used to study rapid kerogen and shale retorting mechanisms, to evaluate the potential oil yield enhancement due to rapid heating, and to fill in gaps in the data on the composition and distribution of the product from rapid pyrolysis. Two predictive models were developed to evaluate the time-temperature profiles during flash pyrolysis, each with different degrees of complexity and transportability. Experiments were conducted to verify and refine the models in order to obtain better accuracy. Statistically designed flash pyrolysis experiments were conducted in conjunction with model calculations to assess the response of a Green River oil shale under different experimental conditions. 16 refs., 27 figs., 4 tabs.