Preface: phys. stat. sol. (c) 4/12

Abstract

AbstractISAMMA 2007 was the first consolidated symposium of the three previous symposia held in the Asian region: ISPMM (International Symposium on Physics of Magnetic Materials) of Japan which started in 1987, ISAMT (International Symposium on Spintronics and Advanced Magnetic Technologies) of Taiwan and SOMMA (International Symposium on Magnetic Materials and Applications) of Korea, both of which started in 1999. Considering that there are too many international and domestic meetings around in recent years, I am sure that this kind of consolidation will benefit the people working in magnetics research in the region. ISAMMA 2007 was held on Jeju island, Korea, during the period 28 May to 1 June 2007. The number of participants was 533 from 26 countries. These statistics clearly indicate that the meeting was truly international! The number of presentations was even higher, there being a total of 613 presentations (174 oral presentations including invited talks and 439 poster presentations). A wide range of subjects were covered in the symposium. The technical sessions included:– Biomagnetics– Magnetotransport– Thin films and multilayers– Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory (MRAM)– Nanostructured materials– Spintronics– Magnetic oxides and multiferroics– Magnetic recording and magneto‐optical recording– Magnetic theory and calculation– Hard magnetic materials– Soft magnetic materials– Magnetic sensors and devices– Spin dynamics– Magnetic oxidesThe number of manuscripts submitted was approximately 320, among which ∼200 manuscripts were accepted and included in the proceedings. It was a challenging task to deal with such a large number of manuscripts in a short period of time. The formidable task has been completed successfully mainly thanks to the great efforts by the Publication Editors: Dr. Naoki Honda (Akita Research Institute of Advanced Techology, Japan), Prof. Minn‐Tsong Lin (National Taiwan University, Taiwan), Prof. Masahiro Yamaguchi (Tohoku University, Japan), and Prof. Kyung‐Jin Lee (Korea University, Korea). The assignment of reviewers in some sessions was problematic, causing extra burden to the Editors. Due to this and other unexpected problems, the job the editors have done is much beyond the originally anticipated one. My sincere thanks go to you all for your professional service and time, without which the proceedings would have not been issued in the present form. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)