I am delighted to be able to bring this major conference to Birmingham, especially given that the West Midlands is pretty much the heart of advanced ceramics manufacturing in the UK. It would not have been possible, however, without the help and support of the Birmingham & West Midlands Convention Bureau, as well as that of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) in the UK and the European Ceramic Society (ECerS), for both of which I am a Past-President.