It is now two years since George Gray passed away leaving the Liquid Crystal Stage to reflect upon his achievements. Numerous obituaries and acknowledgments have detailed his importance to our community, however, these only serve to augment the sadness of the departure of one of our most respected scientists.
We do not believe that this is the way that George would wish to be remembered; rather, we think he would much prefer us to celebrate his life through discussions on one of his major loves – Liquid Crystals. We judge that he would want us to discuss old times, his reminiscences, his friends past and present, on what is new with Liquid Crystals and to raise a drink or two.
Thus in this issue, we think for the first time for a scientific journal, we have combined articles on the new discoveries and theories of liquid crystals, with papers of a personal or collaborative nature between the author and George, and personal reminisces or insights of friendships that have lasted over the years.
The response from invited and potential authors has been immense, so much so that we did not have enough room in the Journal to print everything that we want to. However, we trust that you will forgive us for being a little bit UK-centric, it comes with the turf. We hope that you will, nevertheless, enjoy the special issue; its insights into the past and the tight community that Liquid Crystals was, and to the future as we face the fascinating prospects of new and exciting research.
We believe that George would be pleased to see his embryonic subject still scientifically growing and prospering, but also with remembrance of its exciting youth.
Corrie T. Imrie and John W. Goodby FRS