Non-destructive testing and evaluation (NDT&E) is a key enabling technology for ensuring the integrity, safety, and durability of materials, components, and structures across industrial, energy, and cultural heritage applications, where non-invasive and reliable diagnostics are essential. The increasing complexity of systems and the demand for higher reliability standards require continuous advances in sensor technologies, measurement methodologies, and data analysis techniques.

Recent developments in high-performance sensors, multi-physics measurement systems, and advanced instrumentation have significantly improved defect detectability and material characterization, particularly for heterogeneous and complex materials. In parallel, modern data processing approaches, such as signal processing, inverse problem techniques, data fusion, and AI-assisted analysis, are reshaping NDT&E diagnostics. These advances must be supported by rigorous metrological frameworks to ensure reliability, repeatability, and traceability of measurement results. This Special Session aims to gather contributions on innovative sensing principles, sensor design and characterization, and advanced data processing for NDT&E, with particular emphasis on applications to cultural heritage.

Topics include calibration strategies, uncertainty evaluation, validation methodologies, quantitative defect assessment, integrated measurement systems, and robust analysis methods for operation under real-world conditions. The session promotes an interdisciplinary perspective bridging measurement science (TC-11) and applications in cultural heritage and structural diagnostics (TC-26), fostering the development of reliable and metrologically sound NDT&E solutions.

Advanced NDT sensors, transducer technologies, quantitative NDT&E, measurement instrumentation, smart sensing systems, multi-physics sensing, signal processing, inverse problems, data-driven analysis, calibration and uncertainty, reliability assessment, defect detection, material characterization, cultural heritage diagnostics