Guest Editorial: Special Issue on Plenary and Invited Papers From ICOPS'2012

The 39th International Conference on Plasma Science (ICOPS) was held in Edinburgh, Scotland in July 2012. The conference featured a wide range of advances in innovative plasma and beam science and applications, and served as a venue for an international community to meet and discuss their ideas and research results. More than 800 abstracts were received in 35 different topical areas, with more than half the papers originating outside the United State. The conference was attended by over 600 delegates and enjoyed the participation of over 200 registered students. This Special Issue of the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON PLASMA SCIENCE contains eight refereed papers representing a small collection of some of the most exciting presentations from ICOPS 2012.