The use of ceramics in biological environments and biomedical applications is of increasing importance, as is the understanding of how biology works with minerals to develop strong materials. These proceedings contain papers that discuss the interface between biology and materials, presented at the Proceedings of the 30th International Conference on Advanced Ceramics and Composites, January 22-27, 2006, Cocoa Beach, Florida. Organized and sponsored by The American Ceramic Society and The American Ceramic Society's Engineering Ceramics Division in conjunction with the Nuclear and Environmental Technology Division.

The first systematic reference on the topic with an emphasis on thecharacteristics and dimension of the reinforcement. This first of three volumes, authored by leading researchers inthe field from academia, government, industry, as well as privateresearch institutions around the globe, focuses on macro and microcomposites. Clearly divided into three sections, the first offers anintroduction to polymer composites, discussing the state of theart, new challenges, and opportunities of various polymer compositesystems, as well as preparation and manufacturing techniques. Thesecond part looks at macro systems, with an emphasis on fiberreinforced polymer composites, textile composites, and polymerhybrid composites. Likewise, the final section deals with microsystems, including micro particle reinforced polymer composites,the synthesis, surface modification and characterization of microparticulate fillers and flakes as well as filled polymer microcomposites, plus applications and the recovery, recycling and lifecycle analysis of synthetic polymeric composites.

Improve your understanding in the most valuable aspects of advances in bioceramics and porous ceramics. This collection of logically organized and carefully selected articles contain the proceedings of the “Porous Ceramics: Novel Developments and Applications” and “Next Generation Bioceramics” symposia, which were held on January 27-February 1, 2008.

This issue contains the proceedings of the “Porous Ceramics: Novel Developments and Applications” and “Next Generation Bioceramics” symposia, which were held on January 24-29, 2010 at the Hilton Daytona Beach Resort and the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida, USA. The interaction between ceramic materials and living organisms is a leading area of ceramics research. Novel bioceramic materials are being developed that will provide improvements in diagnosis and treatment of medical and dental conditions. In addition, bioinspired ceramics and biomimetic ceramics have generated considerable interest in the scientific community. The “Next Generation Bioceramics” symposium addressed several leading areas related to the development and use of novel bioceramics, including advanced processing of bioceramics; biomineralization and tissue-material interactions; bioinspired and biomimetic ceramics; ceramics for drug delivery; ceramic biosensors; in vitro and in vivo characterization of bioceramics; mechanical properties of bioceramics; and nanostructured bioceramics. The “Porous Ceramics” symposium aimed to bring together engineers and scientists in the area of ceramic materials containing high volume fractions of porosity, in which the porosity ranged from nano- to millimeters. These materials have attracted significant academic and industrial attention for use in environmental applications, an area where ceramics, particularly porous ones, play a key role because of their suitable properties. Therefore, a significant number of contributions, of which some are present in this volume, was devoted to the fabrication and characterization of porous ceramics for gas purification (e.g., H2 separation and CO2 separation) as well as to particulate filtration (e.g., diesel engine soot). A leading area of ceramics research involves the development of porous ceramics for medical, dental, and biotechnology applications. For example, porous ceramics are under development for use as bone substitutes because a porous structure may enhance tissue ingrowth. Therefore, tailoring of porosity to give specific characteristics, in terms of the amount of interconnecting cells and of the cell and cell window size is required. A joint session involving participants from bioceramics and porous ceramics symposia was therefore held in order to stimulate discussion and productive interactions between the two scientific communities.

Ceramic Engineering and Science Proceedings Volume 34, Issue 6 - Advances in Bioceramics and Porous Ceramics VI A collection of 13 papers from The American Ceramic Society's 37th International Conference on Advanced Ceramics and Composites, held in Daytona Beach, Florida, January 27-February 1, 2013. This issue includes papers presented in Symposium 5 - Next Generation Bioceramics and Biocomposites and Symposium 9 - Porous Ceramics: Novel Developments and Applications.

This issue of the Ceramic Engineering and Science Proceedings is one of nine issues published based on content presented in January 2012, during the 36th International Conference on Advanced Ceramics and Composites (ICACC). It features papers from two popular symposia held during the ICACC meeting: Next-Generation Bioceramics explores new research into ceramic materials designed to support and enhance the treatment of dental and medical disorders; Porous Ceramics: Novel Developments and Applications examines some of the latest advances and innovations in processing methods and synthesis, and much more. Charts, tables, and illustrations are included throughout this issue.

The use of ceramics in biological environments and biomedical applications is of increasing importance, as is the understanding of how biology works with minerals to develop strong materials. Specific information about biomimetics, and processing, performance and interactions of materials for biomedical applications is presented in this collection.