The Society of Glass Technology and the Solid State Chemistry group of the Royal Society of Chemistry held a joint meeting on the interaction of photons, glasses and coatings at Pilkington Technology Centre, Lathom on 28th April 1999. The meeting was attended by a mix of academics and industrialists from the UK, Germany and Ireland. The day included seven papers providing an overview of the major research activities as well as 28 posters on the very latest research being undertaken. The proceedings of this meeting will be published in Volume 3 of Topical Issues in Glass, expected publication date 2nd August 1999, available from the Society of Glass Technology, tel: Sheffield 0114 263 4455, price, £15 to members and £25 to non-members.