Commentary

New legislation has been passed in an attempt to minimize industrial waste and promote recycling. What does this mean for materials science?

Intense competition exists in the realm of research and development in nanotechnology. The government of Japan, one of the countries most advanced in this field, has been actively promoting this form of R&D in cooperation with industrial and academic circles. The hope is that success in nanotechnology will also revitalize Japan's economy. Here, we outline the current status of national projects and future trends of nanotechnology in Japan.

For almost all performance measures, there is some carbon-based material that performs better than silicon. Yet it has proved tough to exploit these carbons in electronics, apart from niche applications. Could hybrid carbon-based materials be more successful?

The European Materials Society — now 20 years old — offers a focus on functional materials and a willingness to engage in policy issues. The success of present and future activities depends on its ability to remain flexible.

When tackling the most fundamental of questions in materials science — what holds matter together — is the concept of an intermolecular potential still useful? Will it survive the emergence of more accurate and increasingly affordable ab initio calculations?

Artists have always tried to embrace new materials and new technology. But today, few artists seem aware of the latest developments in materials science, which may help them to understand and exploit the dynamic nature of the media they work with.

Surfaces were a topic of active debate among ancient philosophers, some of which continues to this day. Can modern surface science settle the question of whether surfaces exist or not?

The process of transferring a laboratory discovery to the marketplace can sometimes seem like a black art. It doesn't have to be.

Lessons learned in the wake of scientific misconduct at Bell Labs. A view from the inside and from the community at large.

The push for smaller microelectronics poses many challenges, such as locating dopant atoms in semiconductors with ever-increasing precision. The ideal technique must be able to detect single dopants with atomic resolution, and identify their electronic state. Neither is an easy task.

When faced with the most cutting-edge problems in materials science, the 'right' research infrastructure can be as important as the quality of the scientific ideas. European researchers are being asked to consider a more inclusive way of doing science.

Should computational materials science be recognized as a field with a role in the community comparable to computational physics or chemistry? With the emergence of multiscale modelling, the answer is a resounding 'yes'.

If you want to know the state of a hot field in materials research, then make sure you watch the patent database.

The verdict returned by an inquiry into scientific misconduct by Bell Labs researchers left many in the community feeling stunned. Where do we go from here?

A method for predicting crystal structures from just molecular formulae has eluded scientists for more than 50 years. The problem is currently being addressed by two very different approaches. But which one is more likely to succeed?

Economics is often called the dismal science, but to many outsiders materials research is still the dirty science. Robert Cahn explains why materials scientists should be proud of their history.