Processing metallic materials far from equilibrium. Recent rapid advances in modeling and real-time experiments with solidifi cation of metals and alloys have yielded a wealth of new and quantitative information, expanding our understanding of the liquid-to-solid phase transition. This is critical to understand the formation of solid phases and their shapes and patterns from the disordered liquid environment. This issue of MRS Bulletin highlights developments in the fi eld, including solidification at extreme rates, as well as the state of the art in computational and experimental techniques. The cover shows dynamic transmission electron microscope images of an Al-4Cu solid-liquid interface during the transition from incubation to growth with corresponding phase-field simulations, showing the interface morphology and grain structure. The background shows directional solidifi cation of (upper) Al-Cu and (lower) Al-Si alloys observed through synchrotron x-ray images. Credit for image in foreground: J.T. McKeown, T. Pinomaa, J.M.K. Wiezorek, N. Provatas, A. Laukkanen, and T. Suhonen. Background: A.J. Clarke, S.D. Imhoff, P.J. Gibbs, J.W. Gibbs, K. Fezzaa, and D. Tourret. See the technical theme that begins on p. 906.