The Past, Present, and Future of Electromagnetic Launch Technology and the IEEE International EML Symposia

The 2013 Special Issue of the Transactions in Plasma Science consists of selected papers from the Sixteenth International Symposium on Electromagnetic Launch (EML) Technology, held at the China National Convention Center in Beijing, China, May 15-19, 2012. During the opening keynote session, Professor Ying Wang, Honorary Chairman of CES' EML Technology Committee, gave an update of his 2010 EML Keynote Address entitled as EML Technologies Cause EM Weapons. Dr. Jun Li gave an overview of China's EML Program followed by a presentation on the history and future of EML technology by Dr. Harry Fair. The Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency (DARPA) sponsored the first EML Symposium in San Diego, and a second symposium held in Boston, MA, in 1983. The EML community could turn its attention to address other EM modes such as solid-state lasers, high power microwaves and high-energy plasmas.