Abstract: Special Issue of Journal of Bionic Engineering for Euromat 2005 (5−8 September, 2005), the Mechanical Testing and Characterisation of Natural Materials session.
Many people gathered to hear 14 talks on a range of topics covering the area of the mechanical testing of natural materials. In fact the Euromat conference had a distinct flavour of natural materials, with other parallel sessions cov-ering similar topics. Euromat is the biennial meeting of the Federation of European Materials Societies with its 23 member societies and is a premier pan-European event covering the complete range of Materials Science and Tech-nology. Over 50 sessions featured at the 2005 meeting, with a variety of topics covering a wide range of materials science. A large number of industrial representatives and publishing houses were also present at a trade exhibition, around which a vast number of posters also reporting materials science research were presented. The conference was also blessed by its location in Prague in the Czech Republic. This city offered delegates a rich cultural experience, not least the large number of beverages on offer!
In the natural materials session however it was encouraging to see over 100 people attending, and all contributing to this exciting area of research. Professor Julian Vincent (Bath, UK) opened the session on natural materials with an overview of work that he has been involved with since the 1970’s, when relatively fewer people were engaged in this area of research. We then went on to hear from a number of speakers on subjects such as the mechanics of bread dough, crisps and lobster cuticle. A session on hard materials, such as bone and shells, also featured as well as a highlight lecture by Professor Tim Wess (Cardiff) on the use of synchrotron X-ray diffraction for studying form and function in collagen and other bio-based fibres. The Max-Planck institutes of Germany also sent many delegates, and a couple of their researchers featured in the programme. A particular highlight from the Max-Planck institutes work included the use of FIB (Focussed Ion Beam) technology for preparing small tensile specimens from biological materials. It was also noted that a large number of doctoral research students from a wide range of European universities also attended the event and presented their work. This is encouraging, in that this area of science is fostering a new generation of researchers willing to study natural-based systems.
From this session I have had the pleasure of editing four contributions to Journal of Bionic Engineering. These contributions are from Peter Zioupos (Cranfield), Paul Mummery (Manchester), Steve Eichhorn (Manchester) and Tim Wess (Cardiff). All have been extensively reviewed, and we hope that the readers of Journal of Bionic Engineering find them useful and they indeed inspire them to join us at the next Euromat meeting in Nuremberg (10−13 September, 2007). If you want any more details on this meeting see the website at http://www.euromat2007.fems.org/.