Welcome to the ICRM 2019, the 22nd International Conference on Radionuclide Metrology and its Applications, at the University of Salamanca!

Radionuclide metrology continues to play an important role in the progress on quality of life and environmental sustainability. Radionuclide standarization and measurement methods are essential in the nuclear industry, supporting activities such as radionuclide production, nuclear medicine, absolute dating in oceanic sciences, environmental radioactivity surveillance, characterization of NORM building materials, control of radionuclides in food and drinking water, decommissioning of nuclear facilities, nuclear security and emergency preparedness, fundamental nuclear physics, etc.

The International Committee for Radionuclide Metrology (ICRM) explicitly aims at being an international forum for the dissemination of information on techniques, applications and data in the field of radionuclide metrology. ICRM, founded at Paris in 1974, has currently 47 institutions represented by delegates. Plenary meetings of the ICRM are OPEN to all specialists in the radionuclide metrology field. They held biennially and have developed into a successful instrument of communication among researchers and metrologists, truly encouraging international co-operation. The most recent one was at the 21st International Conference on Radionuclide Metrology and its Applications (ICRM 2017), which took place on 15 - 19 May 2017 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, hosted by the Argentinian Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica (CNEA).

The 22^nd International Conference on Radionuclide Metrology and its Applications (ICRM2019), hosted by the University of Salamanca on 27-31 May 2019, is aimed as the previous ones to provide an opportunity for the exchange of information on the development of techniques and applications of radionuclide metrology, and to encourage international co-operation in this field. It will include oral and poster presentations and business meetings of the ICRM working groups. Each group is guided by a co-ordinator who acts as a centre for ideas and communications and may organise conferences and workshops.

The University of Salamanca will offer its best to achieve these objectives. During 2018, Salamanca and its University commemorate the Eighth Centenary of the University foundation, being one of the oldest universities in Europe. The town is closely linked to its University in several aspects of life, but it also it presents an important historical artistic heritage, built since times of the medieval Castilla. Among its more prestigious studies emerges the new I+D+i Building, which has been recently built as a multipurpose center devoted to research and services in diverse fields. This I+D+i complex is an exponent of scientific activities based on research, development and innovation, with unique instruments and equipment. The I+D+i Building, located in the downtown area of Salamanca, brings together research groups in several disciplines, such as the biomedical and technological fields. It houses eight research services, including the Laboratory of Ionizing Radiation and Dating (LRI), which organizes the next 22nd ICRM Conference in Salamanca. The LRI is active on several research lines in characterization of radiation detectors, improvements in clinical diagnostic techniques using ionizing radiations, environmental radioactivity, dating in paleoclimatic scenarios, and others.