This issue of Microscopy and Microanalysis contains selected papers from the fifth Regional Workshop of the European Microbeam Analysis Society (EMAS) on Electron Probe Microanalysis—Practical Aspects that took place May 22–25, 2002 at Szczyrk, Poland. The meeting was organized by the Polish National Branch of EMAS in collaboration with the Silesian University of Technology (Faculty of Materials Engineering and Metallurgy) and the Polish Academy of Science (Institute of Metallurgy and Materials Science).