The study of materials science is mainly based on our understanding of the relationship between microstructure and materials properties. Factors such as temperature, stress, and environment can lead to microstructural evolution with a concomitant change in properties. It is the materials scientist's role to harness our knowledge on this relationship to produce materials with improved properties, or to predict the performance of existing materials under various service conditions.

Over the past two decades there have been a burgeoning number of novel or improved materials. This development is accompanied by significant advances in techniques in materials characterization as well as increased sophistication in theoretical methods for the analysis of microstructures. The application of these new techniques and methodologies to study the microstructural evolution of novel materials offers tremendous opportunities for scientific advancement on many fronts, with the prospect of providing new solutions to problems which have hitherto remained intractable.

We invite investigators to contribute original research or review articles that enhance our knowledge and understanding of microstructural evolution phenomena in various materials: metals, polymers, ceramics, semiconductors and so forth. In this special issue, we intend to focus on microstructural evolution during thermal processing. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Microstructural evolution in nanostructures such as nanoparticles, nanorods, nanowires, nanotubes and so forth
• Application of fractal methods to the analysis of microstructural evolution of thin films
• Defect evolution in Nanocrystalline thin films during thermal processing
• Phase transformation studies in metals and alloys, including magnetic effects and ordering
• Formation of intermetallic phases and their associated effects on materials properties

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/amse/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/ according to the following timetable: