  We summarize our recent efforts to develop the Density Matrix Renormalization
Group (DMRG) method into a practical truncation strategy for large-scale
nuclear shell model calculations. Following an overview of the essential
features of the DMRG, we discuss the changes we have implemented for its use in
nuclei. In particular, we have found it useful to develop an angular-momentum
conserving variant of the method (the JDMRG). We then summarize the principal
results we have obtained to date, first reporting test results for $^{48}$Cr
and then more recent test results for $^{56}$Ni. In both cases we consider
nucleons limited to the 2p-1f shell. While both calculations produce a high
level of agreement with the exact shell model results, the fraction of the
complete space required to achieve this high level of agreement is found to go
down rapidly as the size of the full space grows.
