Preface to Special Topic: Invited Papers of the 3rd International Conference on Ultrafast Structural Dynamics

The ability to visualize the real-time dynamics of atomic, magnetic, and electronic structure is widely recognized in many fields as a key element underpinning many important processes in chemistry, materials science, and biology. The need for an improved understanding of such processes becomes acute as energy conversion processes on fast time scales become increasingly relevant to problems in science and technology. This special issue, containing invited papers from participants at the 3rd International Conference on Ultrafast Structural Dynamics held June 10–12, 2015 in Zurich, Switzerland, discusses several recent developments in this area.