The AMPERE Newsletter appears quarterly and covers short topical articles written by experts in the field. Typically it also includes a profile, conference reports, advertisements, a calendar of events and news items on various aspects of radio frequency and microwave energy usage in the ISM frequency band, covering topics broadly from 1 MHz to 30 GHz, although higher frequencies have also been covered. It also highlights on promising new research developments to emanate from academe and industry.

Issue 72, published in February 2012.   Editorial. S-Team: an East-European story. 2CGMEA AMPERE Short Course Presented at the World Congress 23 July 2012. C-Tech Innovation’s New Laboratories. Events. An Afterthought: Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) Radiation. Ampere Disclaimer.

Editorial

This issue invites Vladimir Bilik to introduce the origins of S‐Team from a spin off to work carried out at the University of Technology in Bratislava following the Czechoslovak velvet revolution.
The 2nd World Congress (2GCMEA) is now only less than six months away and the Microwave Working Group is busy setting up a comprehensive programme of sessions, invited lectures, keynote speakers as well as a usual mix of generic activities and visits. There will also be the opportunity to indulge in a number of outdoor activities such as windsurfing, jet skiing and sailing at Long Beach, the venue of the 2GCMEA.
With the 2GCMEA in mind this edition of the Newsletter also highlights one of the short courses, entitled, “Fundamental and advanced topics in RF and microwave processing” which is organised and presented at Long Beach by members of AMPERE. Student grants to attend the course are available (see below for details).
Finally, this issue launches a new column called "An Afterthought" where members can write short articles on any scientific topic, not necessarily related to RF or microwaves, but preferably to have some distant connection to our area of activity. I start myself with a piece relating to the cosmic microwave background radiation.

AC Metaxas
EUG St John’s College
Cambridge UK.