Dear participants of the international symposium XeMAT 2015, after the very productive and successful conferences in Sestri Levante, Italy (2000), La Colle-sur-Loup, France (2003), Ottawa, Canada (2006), Ruka-Kuusamo, Finland (2009), and Dublin, Ireland (2012), we – which means: more than 60 registered participants – have now gathered in Dresden in order to discuss the latest developments concerning the use of xenon/ hyperpolarized noble gases in magnetic resonance during the next days. The scientific program of XeMAT 2015 encompasses 29 oral presentations and more than 20 posters. Program details and the abstracts of these contributions can be found in this booklet.

XeMAT 2015 takes place in the new chemistry buildings (Neubau Chemische Institute) which were finished just a few years ago. TU Dresden was founded as an “Institution for Technical Education” in 1828. The first chemistry courses were already offered in 1832. Today, TU Dresden is among the top universities in Germany and Europe. As a modern full-status university with 14 departments it offers a wide academic range making it one of a very few in Germany. TU Dresden is the largest university in Saxony. Since June 2012, TU Dresden is one of eleven German universities that were identified as an “excellence university”.

Let me express my gratitude to the rectorial board and the administration of TU Dresden for providing the facilities and help for the conference organization. I gratefully acknowledge generous financial support by the Society of Friends and Promoters of TU Dresden (“Gesellschaft von Freunden und Förderern der TU Dresden e.V.”) and Cortecnet (France). Finally, it is my hope that you will also enjoy the social program and the beautiful city of Dresden with its numerous sights.

Welcome to Dresden UPenn!