Having edited "Journal of Materials Processing Technology" (previously entitled "Journal of Mechanical Working Technology") for close on 25 years, I have seen the many dramatic changes that have occurred in the materials processing field. Long gone are the days when the only "materials processing" carried out was virtually the forming of conventional metals and alloys, and when the development of a new product or process in a great number of cases called for several months of repetitive trial-and-error, ' with many (mostly intuition- or experience-based) expensive and time-consuming...