Bengt Långström—a pioneer in carbon‐11 radiochemistry

47 This special issue of Journal of Labelled Compounds and Radiopharmaceuticals is dedicated to the pioneering work of Bengt Långström in the field of radiochemistry and its application to a multitude of scientific disciplines. As with many great scientists, he is still very active in the field and is a continued source of inspiration to his peers, old and young. The tangible outputs of science are the publication of facts, methods and findings in scientific journals and meeting abstracts. In such a form, it is almost impossible to convey the nonfactual aspects of science that are key to the process. Breakthroughs, disappointments, chance meetings, personalities, personal interactions, revelations and excitement are all crucial aspects to the process of science and discovery that are seldom documented in the modern era. Bengt has always stated that ‘In science you are not alone’. Very true. This special issue contains contributions from some of his colleagues, students and collaborators that had the pleasure of working with Bengt over the last five decades. The articles by Bob Dannals, Gunnar Antoni and Joanna Fowler in particular capture a glimpse of some of the nontangible qualities and interactions that Bengt and co-workers brought to a series of successful collaborations.