Electronic materials and processing: 1979–2003

This foreword introduces the Electronic Materials and Processing Division section of the fiftieth anniversary issue of the Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology. This section provides an overview of the four major areas of achievement that electronic materials and processing research has brought to the American Vacuum Society and the world of science and technology at large. The four papers that follow illuminate these achievements, their impact on physical science-based technology over half a century, and the promise of continuing discovery and innovation into the future.