Our terms of reference are as follows.

The aim of the committee is to promote knowledge and skills training in the UK in the field of functional materials. The membership includes academics and representatives from industry, EPSRC and other bodies, such as KTNs. It is anticipated that the membership will change to reflect new initiatives and areas of interest.

The activities of the committee are focused on the processing of functional materials regardless of type or length scale. This complements the activities of other groups within IOM3 and externally, which are focused on the characterisation and application of functional materials.

The committee activities are focused on the training of early stage researchers. This is achieved through workshops, meetings, training materials (publications and videos) and industrial visits. An objective of the committee is to improve the knowledge and skills of young researchers in materials processing to the benefit of UK industry.

The training will contain a mix of traditional and new processing technologies, with strong reference to new and emerging materials. It will include relevant materials characterisation techniques.

The Committee's objectives will be addressed through:

• Promotion of education and training, through professional development courses; alignment with national activities, particularly EPSRC initiatives in postgraduate training.
• Cooperations with other IOM3 technical committees on issues of mutual interest, in particular the Smart Materials and Nanomaterials committees of the Materials Sciences and Technology Division and the Electronic Applications Division.
• Website maintenance and development.
• Publication of Educational Materials.
• To inform the Institute members about new developments in functional materials.
• Provide specialist advice to external bodies eg Government, EC, standards organisations, etc.
• Liaising with IOM3 External Affairs Group.
• Liaising with other professional institutes, e.g. IET, IOP, on topics within its scope.
• Consider nominations for awards and prizes for IOM3 and other bodies.
• Advising the Institute on issues within its scope.