Markys Cain graduated with his PhD from Warwick University, UK, in 1990 and spent some very happy years in the Materials Department of the University of California, Santa Barbara studying thin film epitaxial science. He joined The UK's National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in 1997 to lead the Functional Materials Research group. Research activity includes the development of measurement methods to elucidate materials behaviour in ferroelectric and piezoelectric ceramics and thin film materials, and more recently in multiferroic materials and materials metrology for Energy Harvesting. The focus of the research is materials metrology and he has published over 110 peer reviewed scientific papers in the field. In 2009 he was awarded the Institute of Materialsa Verulam medal for outstanding contributions to ceramic science, and is visiting Professor at Queen Mary, University of London, visiting Reader at The University of Surrey and Vice President of The Piezo Institute (www.piezoinstitute.com).