Editorial

Abstract

This special issue of Nanotechnology contains contributions presented at the third `Trends in Nanotechnology' (TNT2002) international conference, held in Santiago de Compostela (Spain), 9–13 September 2002. More than 370 scientists from Europe, the United States, Japan and other countries worldwide attended this meeting and contributed talks (77), posters (200) and stimulating discussions about their most recent research.The rapidly emerging areas of nanoscale science and technology are focused on the design, fabrication and characterization of functional objects having dimensions at the nanometre-length scale. New advances in this emerging area are expected to have long-range implications in a wide variety of different scientific and engineering disciplines. The importance of nanoscale science is growing worldwide and it is now widely recognized as a critical component to the future growth of the world economy.The aim of the conference was to focus on the applications of nanotechnology and to bring together, in a scientific forum, various groups from throughout the world belonging to industry and public institutions. TNT2002 was particularly effective in transmitting information and establishing contacts among workers in this field. Graduate students attending such conferences quickly learn the importance of interdisciplinary skills and become more effective in their future research. Last year, almost 50 graduate students received a grant (from NASA, PHANTOMS or TNT) to attend the conference and presented their work through a poster (10 prizes to the best posters were awarded by Professor Leo Esaki). The scientific programme, without parallel sessions, covered a wide spectrum of nanotechnology research. The structure of the conference provided an opportunity for broad interaction.A one-day SRC/TNT nanoelectronics workshop was also organized, as an integrated part of the TNT conference. The workshop was structured to encourage an active interchange of ideas among participants, to highlight the most relevant scientific results and define strategies. Five major nanoelectronics themes were identified, each of which was addressed by a speaker from industry and a speaker from a university. All lecturers were asked to present their opinions on the following questions in a report: (i) What is the most significant achievement in the field in 2001–2002? (ii) What is overall the most significant result in the field? (iii) What are the recommended research vectors?We would like to thank all the participants for their assistance as well as the authors for their written contributions. We are indebted to the following institutions, companies and government agencies for their help and financial support: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, CMP Cientifica, University of Cambridge, University of Purdue, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, PHANTOMS Network (funded by the EU through its IST programme), National Science Foundation, NASA, Riken Institute, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Donosti International Physics Centre, Xunta de Galicia, Concello de Santiago, Hewlett Packard, Motorola, Carburos Metalicos, World Scientific, Institute of Physics Publishing and the Ministerio Español de Ciencia y Tecnología. We would also like to thank the following companies for their participation as exhibitors: NanoTec, Raith, World Scientific and Institute of Physics Publishing.We invite readers of this special issue of Nanotechnology to join us in the `Trends in Nanotechnology' conference series. The next conference (TNT2003) is being held in Salamanca (Spain), 15–19 September 2003. Guest Editors: Antonio Correia CMP Cientifica, Spain Pedro A Serena ICMM/CSIC, Spain Juan Jose Saenz Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain Mark Welland University of Cambridge, UK Ron Reifenberger Purdue University, USA