At the next meeting in the BRLSI Science series on Thursday October 20th at 7.30 pm, Dr Roger Nilen, of the Element Six Global Innovation Centre, Harwell, will speak on “Industrial Applications of Diamond”. Prized as the hardest material on Earth, the first man-made diamond was synthesised in 1953. Since then, a multi-billion dollar “super-abrasives” industry has grown up around this most wonderful of materials. The talk will cover some of the industrial applications requiring diamond’s extreme mechanical properties, as well as its extreme optical and thermal properties, highlighting recent developments and considering current challenges.