Everyone starting work in this field is faced with the lack of basic books. Here, two renowned researchers introduce the reader to luminescence and its applications, describing the principles of the luminescence processes in a clear way and dealing not only with physics, but also with the chemistry of systems. Particular attention is paid to materials such as lamp phosphors, cathode-ray and X-ray phosphors, scintillators and many other applications.

Topics covered during the Professor W.M. Yen Memorial Symposium included; 1) identification of luminescent centers, loss centers and non-radiative processes, 2) synthesis and characterization of novel phosphor materials, 3) persistent phosphor materials, 4) high energy (x-ray, gamma ray, cathode ray) excitation of luminescence, including scintillators, 5) electroluminescence, 6) luminescence from glasses, 7) theoretical analysis of luminescence phenomena, and 8) synthesis and characterization of luminescent nanoparticles.

The papers included in this issue of ECS Transactions were originally presented in the symposium ¿Physics and Chemistry of Luminescent Materials, including the 4th Symposium on Persistent Phosphors¿, held during the PRiME 2008 joint international meeting of The Electrochemical Society and The Electrochemical Society of Japan, with the technical cosponsorship of the Japan Society of Applied Physics, the Korean Electrochemical Society, the Electrochemistry Division of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, and the Chinese Society of Electrochemistry. This meeting was held in Honolulu, Hawaii, from October 12 to 17, 2008.

The papers included in this issue of ECS Transactions were originally presented in the symposium ¿Physics and Chemistry of Luminescent Materials 16¿, held during the 212th meeting of The Electrochemical Society, in Washington, DC, from October 7 to 12, 2007.