The visited conference was the 7th ECERS in Brugge, Belgium, 2001 Sept. 9-13. ECERS stands for the European CERamic Society and was founded in 1987 to co-ordinate and support research within ceramics. Every other year a conference is held in one of the membership countries. During this conference there were four parallel sessions and two big poster sections. The subjects treated went under the following main headlines: Processing, Material and General. Though out the lectures general themes were increased density, enhanced K1C and the use of disposable precursors. Material with close to theoretical density that were discussed were a- and g-Al2O3 and stabilised or unstabilised ZrO2. It was an interesting conference and a forum for meeting all aspects of ceramics research. It was well organised and the schedule felt carefully prepared. Many aspects of ceramics research were represented with the effect of enormous spread in the lectures. Many of the presented techniques can, from a ballistic point of view, be applicable in the manufacturing of new protection materials. A recommendation for the future is to attend this conference with a lecture or a poster.