After a series of seven events held in Spain, Electrocerámica (VIII Reunión Nacional) moved for the first time to Portugal, with the University of Aveiro acting as host. We believe that this note is the appropriate place to express our gratitude to all people involved and also to the Section of Electrocerámica of the Sociedad Española de Cerámica y Vidrio for giving us the chance to organize this event in Portugal.

The coverage of scientific subjects within the field of electroceramics was obvious, with sessions on Dielectrics and Ferroelectrics, Ionic, Electronic and Mixed Conductors, Nanomaterials, Processing and Properties, Characterization, and Applications.

An excellent list of invited speakers (C. A. Paz de Araújo, M. Villegas, J. Ricote, R.I. Merino, M. Tyunina, A.R. West, F. Figueiredo, A. Albareda, J.B. Carda, D. Fernández) introduced all the subjects addressed in the Conference sessions, with reference to the most exciting results in the field.

The Conference had an overall attendance of 101 persons, including 41 students (Ph.D. students or Post-Docs), providing plenty of room for a large interaction between participants. The origin of contributions included more than twenty different countries. Spain and Portugal shared the majority of the presentations, but we also had contributions from Argentina, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Serbia, Slovenia, Sweden, Russia, Ukraine, UK and USA. The international flavor was clear.

The full length manuscripts appearing now in the Boletin de la Sociedad Española de Cerámica y Vidrio, were assessed by a large number of helpful referees, providing us the necessary critical assessment of all materials being published. This enormous amount of work was only possible with the dedication of Dr. Paula Ferreira, which assisted us in this process.

Running any event has obvious budgetary constraints. We would like to express here our gratitude to all sponsors which provided us funding for invited speakers, Conference facilities and materials available throughout the event.

Last but not least, a special reference to the Scientific Committee and the Local Organizing Committee, source of many helpful suggestions, and to the Conference Secretariat for taking care of all practical details involved in the organization of the event.

We are looking forward to meeting you all again in 2009 in Spain (or somewhere else…).

Aveiro, May 2008

Paula Vilarinho, Fernando Marques