Organised by the Korean Institute of Metals and Materials (KIM), PRICM-6 took place in the Jeju International Convention Centre (ICC). Opened in 2003, the ICC is located on the oceanfront, with a fantastic 270u view from inside the building around to the towering mountain in the centre of the island (Fig. 1). Since the first meeting in Hangzhou, China in June 1992, PRICM conferences have been sponsored by the Chinese Society for Metals (CMS), the Korean Institute of Metals and Materials, The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS) and the Japan Institute of Metals – held triennially and organised by each society in rotation. The Institute of Materials Engineering Australia (IMEA) was selected as the fifth sponsoring society during the Jeju conference. An opening address by Professor Young Won Chang, as chairman of the international organising committee of PRICM-6, was followed by statements of congratulation from the international organising committee members of each sponsoring society. The plenary session continued with five keynote presentations on behalf of each society: N ‘Deformation induced ferrite transformation in microalloyed steels: theory and applications’ by Professor Yuqing Weng, CMS N ‘Improvements and innovations in the continuous casting process at POSCO’ by Dr Oh Joon Kwon, POSCO, Korea N ‘Materials science at the intersections of engineering, biology and medicine’ by Professor Subra Suresh, MIT, USA N ‘TiNi-base and Ti-base shape memory alloys’ by Professor Shuichi Miyazaki, University of Tsukuba, Japan N ‘Progress in light alloy design and processing’ by Professor Barry Muddle, Monash University, Australia. The conference technical sessions contained a total of 1200 papers, comprising 730 oral presentations in 78 sessions covering 19 topics and 470 papers in two poster sessions. Participants were from 31 countries, a record for PRICM, as was the number of papers presented. The 19 session topics were: N Advanced ferrous alloys N Light metals N Intermetallics and high temperature alloys N Advanced ceramics N Composite materials N Advanced forming and processing N Advanced melt processing, casting and joining N Magnetic, electronic and optical materials N Thin film materials and processing N Amorphous and quasicrystalline materials, nanocrystalline materials N Biomaterials, smart materials and structures N Fuel cells and hydrogen storage materials N Ecomaterials and porous materials N Energetic particles – materials interactions and nuclear materials N Modelling and simulation of materials and processes N Materials characterisation and evaluation N Damage evaluation and life assessment N Phase transformation and their applications N Interfaces and surface engineering. Highlights of the session on ‘Interfaces and surface engineering’, which is of direct relevance to readers of IHTSE, included presentations on: N Coating of Ni/Cu multilayered films N HVOF thermal spray coating of WC–Co powder N Erosion-corrosion performance of HVOF sprayed coating N Cold spray technique N Fatigue crack growth behaviour by water cavitation peening N Low temperature carburised layer on AISI 304L stainless steel N Pack boronising of Co–Cr–W–C alloy N Improvement of surface roughness on polymer materials N Al surface coating on Mg alloys by metallisation N Plasma electrolytic oxidation of Mg N Al2O3–YAG nanocomposite coatings N High current pulsed electron beam treatment N Chemical bonding of metal/ceramic interfaces N First-principles calculations of Ni/ Al2O3 interfaces N TEM characterisation of grain boundary of Al2O3 N Twin-induced grain boundary engineering N Interface faceting in polycrystals N Abnormal grain growth in electrodeposited nanocrystalline Ni N Cr matrix composite plated with nanosized diamond powders N Dislocation structure analysis low tilt grain boundaries N Subsurface microstructure induced by sliding wear N Effect of surface on recrystallisation. Delegates had the opportunity to enjoy the unique cultural heritage and the natural beauty of Jeju Island during the Conference, in addition to the technical programs, welcome reception and banquet.