Guest Editorial
For the second time X-Ray Spectrometry is publishing selected manuscripts from the Durham Conference on X-Ray Analysis. The papers in this issue were presented at the 1995 conference, the 19th in the series, which was held in University College and the Science Laboratories of the University of Durham on 18Γ21 September 1995.
As we will all recall, 1995 was Ro ntgenΓs centenary year and to mark the occasion Ron Jenkins and Hans de Vries, authors of arguably the most widely read textbooks on x-ray spectrometry, were invited to present plenary lectures tracing the history of the technique from its early beginnings to the current state of the art. In addition, Keith Norrish was tempted out from "down underΓ to present a review of his current work at the CSIRO Division of Soils in Canberra. The three papers demonstrated the wealth of knowledge and experience that is lodged in some of the more senior spectroscopists, knowledge and experience that will prove difficult to replace when they Γnally "hand up their wavelength tables.Γ That people wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to see and hear these gurus of the technique was reΓected in the attendance at the conference which, at 130, was the highest it had been for many years.
Once again we were pleased to receive many delegates from overseas, but in particular the two Professors, Tao Guang Yi and Ji Ang, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai, who presented papers on Theoretical Intensities and Chemical State Analysis, respectively.
The conference was divided into six sessions with one devoted to a workshop on education and training in x-ray spectrometry and each of the other sessions containing about Γve papers, making about 25 papers in all. The seven in this issue represent a good cross-section of the content of the conference, and the organizers would like to thank these seven authors for the time and care they have taken in the preparation of their manuscripts and for their prompt response to refereesΓ comments.
The workshop session, which was chaired by Ron Jenkins, not only provided an insight into the level and scope of x-ray spectrometry training available in many countries in the world, but also gave delegates the opportunity to express their requirements to those in the audience with educational responsibilities.
Once again, a "Tricks of the TradeΓ session was held. The main idea of this session is to allow less formal papers, maybe of only a few minutes duration, in the hope of encouraging delegates to pass on practical hints and tips from their own daily experiences. It attracted some fascinating contributions, and indeed three of the papers here are from that session.