ELSEVIER Colloids and Surfaces

A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects 133 11998) I

COLLOIDS AND A SURFACES

Preface

The challenges involved in the generation, syn- thesis, characterization and processing of particu- late materials, for example cements, puints, pigments, fillers, coatings, minerals, metals, ceram- ~c~ and polymcrics, cut across a number of science and engineering disciplines. Progress made concur- rently in diverse areas to increase onr understand- ing of fine particles often tend to remain confined to their respective areas. It is in this context that a highly successful Engineering Foundation Conference on Parth'le Science and Techm~h~gy in the 21st celltltr_r was organized at Tata Research Development and Design Centre, Pune, India, during December 17 21, 1995. An interdisciplinary approach to solving industrial problems of fine particles was hi~,hlighted during the meeting.

More than 100 delegates fi'om many countries including the USA, Sweden, UK, Japan, Korea, Switzerland. Russia, Singapore, Egypt and India attended. The participants were drawn from such diverse industries as cements, minerals, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, fertilizers, paper, detergents, ceramics and refractories, and those engaged in the design and manufacture of particle characteriza- tion i~.strnments, in addition to some of the leading researchers in the field of particle science and tech- nology. More than 60 papers were presented during the conference followed by lively discussions.

It was decided by the organizers to publish the selected papers presented at the conferenec, after due process of peer review, in the b~ternationtd

Journal o f Mhlepal Provess#tg and Colloids and Surldce.~. This issue entitled h~ter/acial Phenomena ht Advanced Ceramitw Processbtg covers the papers dealing with px oeessing of advanced ceramics.

We would like to place on record our sincere thanks to the sponsors of this conference, namely the Department of Science and Technology (DST), India, the International Fine Particle Research Institute { IFPRI ), UK, the Engineering Research Centre for Particle Science and Technology, University of Florida, USA, and the Tata Research Development and Design Centre, Pune, India. Financial suppor:, from some of the leading indu- stries in India, for example Tata Steel, Hindustan Zinc Ltd, Associated Cements Companies Ltd and Goodlass Nerolac Paints Ltd is gratefully acknowledged.

We are grateful to the members of the Organizing Committee, the National Steering Committee, the International Advisory Committee and Ms Barbara Hickernell and her colleagues at the Engineering Foundation, USA, for their time and efforts in making this first ever Engineering Foundation Conference in India a success.

Finally, we wish to thank the authors as well as the reviewers for their contributions. We would also like to thank Prof. P. Somasundaran, Editor in Chief, ColloMs and Surfaceg, and Elsevier Science Publishers, B.V. lbr agreeing to publish this special issue.

PRADIP BRIJ MOUDGIL

0927-7757/98,$19.00 C: 1998 Elsevier Science 8.V. Al l righls reserved. PII S0927-7757(97 I00120-9