This book represents the proceedings of the second inter­ disciplinary conference on materials characterization held from July 30 through August 3, 1984 at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. The conference was the 20th in the University Series on Ceramic Science, instituted in 1964 by Alfred University, the University of California at Berkeley, North Carolina State University and Notre Dame University. Volume I of the proceedings of the first conference using this interdisciplinary approach to materials characterization was published as "Advances in Materials Characterization", edited by D. R. Rossington, R. A. Condrate and R. L. Snyder, and was listed as volume 15 of the Materials Science Research series of Plenum Press (New York, 1983). The purpose of bringing together scientists from a wide range of disciplines to present and discuss the latest developments in their fields is to promote cross fertilization. The first conference of this type and its resulting volume of proceedings stimulated a significant dialogue between disciplines concerning the characterization of materials, therefore indicating a need for a continuing series of such conferences. Characterization lies at the core of materials science.