Editorial: innovative mass storage technologies

The 2nd European Workshop on innovative mass storage technologies, IMST2002, took place at the University of Exeter on 16-17 September 2002 and was designed to bring together European workers from academia and industry to seek a greater unity of activity in information storage for the benefit of all. Participants from eight European Framework V programmes on data storage, members of the UK EPSRC funded Data Storage Network and prestigious speakers from the USA and Japan all contributed. Altogether there were some 91 delegates who enjoyed a total of 46 presentations and posters covering the full range of data storage technologies including magnetic and optical recording, solid state devices and scanning probe-based storage.