The May issue of Materials World focuses on something that is all around us – packaging. As materials and products grow more advanced, and customers become more technically savvy, so too must packaging evolve and adapt to a more demanding market. Packaging Consultant Keith Barnes offers his advice to UK manufacturers on how to be more innovative. Dr Malcolm Butler explores the potential of using plastic electronics in packaging, while Paul Butler dismisses our current ‘use by’ system of dating on perishable food items and looks to the future when packaging can electronically monitor the food it holds. Tracking all of these packages – where they go and who sent them – in our current global marketplace requires a universal tracking system. In ‘RFID and the holy grail’, Gerrit Wassink offers a simplified guide through the complicated labyrinth of radio frequency identification standards.

Of course, packaging is not the only area that is turning high-tech – our most primary mined goods have long-used technology to increase production and improve resourcing. This month’s issue includes two features on mining technology. ‘Defining earthy language’ shows how computer software is learning to speak the language of geologists, while Michael Samis of AMEC Americas Ltd demonstrates alternative methods for determining the economic viability of a mining project in ‘Get real’.

In our news section, Meagan Ellis covers the launch of Hitachi’s new tabletop microscope, one of the smallest electron microscopes in the world. Rupal Mehta speaks to David Jackson about his experience as a packaging designer and his work using polypropylene. And Brian McCarthy, Director of TechniTex Faraday, gives an overview of the UK’s technical textiles sector. As many readers will know, April 2006 saw the Institute hosting its biennial Materials Congress, and this year’s event was marked by a number of symposia, lectures and masterclasses. The Materials World team reviews the highlights of the Congress.