Introduction

In the following articles the breadth and diversity of the research carried out during the last year can be seen. The chapter is divided into three sections, each with a short introduction: X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS);

X-ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism and Magnetic Scattering; Electronic Structure. However, in some senses this segregation is arbitrary, as the more general trend that is becoming evident is the combination of methods. This applies to both X-ray methods (e.g. EXAFS and diffraction; structural and magnetic measurements etc.) and to X-ray probes combined with laboratory techniques but applied in situ (e.g. Scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM); Infra-red or Ultra-violet spectroscopy, etc.). This is true in many disciplines, including Chemistry, Physics, and Magnetism, where one often needs to measure complementary information at the same time to address a problem. For example, having structural (both local and long range) and electronic information measured under the same conditions is becoming of paramount importance. As one pushes the limits of the possibilities of the X-ray methods by going to more extreme conditions, whether it be higher pressures, lower temperatures, faster time scales, smaller samples or higher magnetic fields, having a complete picture becomes imperative and will be a challenge for the coming years.

N. Brookes