Research in magnetism has a long, redoubtable history, and one fundamental reason for its continuing productivity is the fact that advances are very often coupled intimately with progress in materials science. New materials, preparation methods, and characterization technique s continu e to provide opportunities for exploring magnetic phenomena in a progressively broader array of systems with a growing arsenal of analytical tools. Challenges to theory are often presented by discoveries on the experimental side, engendering constructive interaction which enhances our basic understanding of the materials and the physics controlling their properties. Technology invariably benefits from that ongoing process. The following series of five articles in this issue of the MRS BULLETIN aims at conveying the excitement and vitality of current work in magnetism and magnetic materials. Each author or set of author s has endeavored to provide a succinct overview of a specific area, and in combination the papers offer an informative (although certainly not exhaustive!) survey of this very active field.