**Meet the editor**

Dr. Wenbin Cao, Professor in Materials Science, University of Science and Technology Beijing, China, works intensively in two research fields supported by China national research projects. First, he is interested in developing practical, cheap and environmentally friendly methods to synthesize ceramic powders at low cost, including the preparation of SiC powders and whiskers

by microwave heating, through which the synthesis temperature and reaction time have been decreased significantly. Secondly, he is focused on the preparation and application of semiconductor photocatalyst. Large scale production of visible light active nanocrystalline photocatalyst under mild conditions has been worked out and some of the developed techniques have been transferred to the industry successfully.
