The first ICXOM congress held in Cambridge was the brain-child of Dr. Ellis Cosslett, founder of the Electron Optics Section of the Cavendish Laboratory. Dr. Cosslett pioneered research in x-ray optics and microanalysis and retained a close interest in all subject applications for this area of research, including physics, materials science, chemistry, and biology. X-Ray Optics and Microanalysis 1992 was held in his memory. At a special symposium, friends and colleagues reviewed the present status of research in x-ray optics and microanalysis. S.J. Pennycook of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, D.B. Williams of Lehigh University, J.A. Venables et al. of Arizona State University and Sussex University, and C. Jacobsen et al. of SUNY, Stony Brook are among the researchers whose papers are included in this volume.

The first ICXOM congress held in Cambridge was the brain-child of Dr. Ellis Cosslett, founder of the Electron Optics Section of the Cavendish Laboratory. Dr. Cosslett pioneered research in x-ray optics and microanalysis and retained a close interest in all subject applications for this area of research, including physics, materials science, chemistry, and biology. X-Ray Optics and Microanalysis 1992 was held in his memory. At a special symposium, friends and colleagues reviewed the present status of research in x-ray optics and microanalysis. S.J. Pennycook of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, D.B. Williams of Lehigh University, J.A. Venables et al. of Arizona State University and Sussex University, and C. Jacobsen et al. of SUNY, Stony Brook are among the researchers whose papers are included in this volume.

The first ICXOM congress held in Cambridge was the brain-child of Dr. Ellis Cosslett, founder of the Electron Optics Section of the Cavendish Laboratory. Dr. Cosslett pioneered research in x-ray optics and microanalysis and retained a close interest in all subject applications for this area of research, including physics, materials science, chemistry, and biology. X-Ray Optics and Microanalysis 1992 was held in his memory. At a special symposium, friends and colleagues reviewed the present status of research in x-ray optics and microanalysis. S.J. Pennycook of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, D.B. Williams of Lehigh University, J.A. Venables et al. of Arizona State University and Sussex University, and C. Jacobsen et al. of SUNY, Stony Brook are among the researchers whose papers are included in this volume.

There is growing interest in light metallic alloys for a wide number of applications owing to their processing efficiency, processability, long service life, and environmental sustainability. Aluminum, magnesium, and titanium alloys are addressed in this Special Issue, however, the predominant role played by aluminum. The collection of papers published here covers a wide range of topics that generally characterize the performance of the alloys after manufacturing by conventional and innovative processing routes.

* A special volume devoted principally to therole of the late Sir Charles Oatley in the development of the scanning electron microscopeings* It contains historical articles and reminiscences by most of the scientists who have worked on the scanning electron microscope in Oatley's laboratory * Emphasizes broad and in depth article collaborations between world-renowned scientists in the field of image and electron physicsAlthough the scanning electron microscope had a prehistory in Germany and the USA, its real champion was Charles Oatley, who launched his projectin the Cambridge University Engineering Department shortly after the end of World War II. A first microscope was built successfully by D. McMullan, oneof the Guest Editors of this volume and a succession of progressively improved instruments followed. One in particular, built by K.C.A. Smith was commissioned specially for the Canadian Pulp and Paper Research Institute for use in their Montreal laboratories. All these efforts culminated in the commercial model built by the Cambridge Instrument Company and marketed in 1965 under the trade name, Stereoscan.Although this story has been told on several occasions, in particular in these Advances, it seemed appropriate, in the centenary year of the birth of Sir Charles Oatley, that more details should be published to celebrate these achievements. This volume is the result. It contains not only historical articles and reminiscences by most of the scientists who have worked on the scanning electron microscope in Oatley's laboratory but also full or partial reproductions of many of the key publications, beginning with McMullan's early paper of 1953 and including Oatley's own "Early history of the scanning electron microscope" (1982). A website has been created, in which supplementary material is collected.This volume is a tribute to a bold pioneering scientist and a vivid record of the creation of the first commercial scanning electron microscopes and of subsequent developments. * A special volume devoted principally to therole of the late Sir Charles Oatley in the development of the scanning electron microscopeings* It contains historical articles and reminiscences by most of the scientists who have worked on the scanning electron microscope in Oatley's laboratory* Emphasizes broad and in depth article collaborations between world-renowned scientists in the field of image and electron physics