Over the last forty years I have been lucky enough to have experienced a unique career researching and developing composite materials, in both industry and academia, during a time of unprecedented expansion in the global composites business. Over that time, I have been involved in areas as diverse as the development of new and novel fibre and composite products through to fundamental materials research. My research efforts have been focussed in three main areas; the fibre-matrix interface region, fibre reinforcements and in particular glass fibres, and the structure-(re)processing-performance relationships of reinforced thermoplastics. The published output of that work is collected together in this series of volumes.

Glass fibres form the foundation of a composites industry with a global annual consumption of more than six million tons of reinforcement grade E-glass fibre used in the production of greater than ten million tons of high performance composites. Possibly the most critical component involved in the manufacture of glass fibres and their composites is the fibre sizing. Yet because of the intense industrial secrecy surrounding sizings there are very few people in composite material supply chain who have more than a superficial understanding their full role. The 15 papers in this volume have been arranged to reflect the three stages of my journey into glass fibre sizings. Firstly, as a researcher on the outside of the sizing veil of secrecy, then on the inside researching and developing the secrets of sizing, and finally on the outside again as a researcher and an educator about sizings.