Book excerpt: Bringing together the work of practitioners in many fields of engineering, materials and computational science, this book includes most of the papers presented at the Second International Conference on Material Characterisation. Compiled with the central aim of encouraging interaction between experimentalists and modelers, the contributions featured are divided under the following sections: MICROSTRUCTURES ? Composites; Alloys; Ceramics; Cements; Foams; Suspensions; Biomaterials; Thin Films; Coatings. EXPERIMENTAL METHODS - Optical Imaging; SEM, TEM; X-Ray Microtomography; Ultrasonic Techniques; NMR/MRI; Micro/Nano Indentation; Thermal Analysis; Surface Chemistry. COMPUTATIONAL METHODS - Continuum Methods (FEM, FV, BEM); Particle Models (MD, DPD, Lattice-Boltzmann); Montecarlo Methods; Cellular Automata; Hybrid Multiscale Methods; and Damage Mechanics.