Interview in 2010

Scott Chambers has worked on epitaxial oxide films for the past eighteen years. Nature Materials asked him about his view on high-temperature ferromagnetism in diluted magnetic oxides.

Nitin Samarth has extensive experience in studying the properties of (Ga,Mn)As. He told Nature Materials about the role that this compound has had in exploring the magnetic properties of semiconductors and, more generally, of spin-related phenomena.

Jim Heath tells Nature Materials about the discovery of C₆₀ and how the findings catalysed our way of thinking about size and shape on the nanoscale.

Despite the good education of its scientists, science and technology in Mexico faces multiple challenges, says Juan Ramón de la Fuente, a former Minister of Health and former Rector of the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

Roberto Car tells Nature Materials how the Car–Parrinello molecular dynamics method originated and how his research career has evolved since then.

Nature Materials asked Michele Parrinello about his research and the way in which his work with Roberto Car 25 years ago has influenced the materials science and quantum chemistry communities.

Sergio Machado Rezende has served for 5 years as the Minister for Science and Technology of Brazil. Nature Materials has asked him about the past and future of science in his country.

Alain Fuchs is the director of the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Paris and in January was appointed the new president of the French National Centre for Scientific Research, CNRS. Nature Materials asked him about his research and his new role.

Charles Townes played a crucial role in the invention and realization of the first masers and lasers, for which he shared the 1964 Nobel Prize in Physics. Nature Materials speaks to him about his historic contributions.

Coherent synchrotron radiation has revolutionized the study of molecules and materials. Talking to Nature Materials, Gerhard Materlik, CEO of the Diamond Light Source, discusses the many uses of synchrotron sources and free electron lasers.

The quantum cascade laser has liberated laser properties from materials limitations, enabling light emission to be tailored over a broad spectral range. Nature Materials talks to Federico Capasso about the development of these lasers in his laboratory.

It was the realization of semiconductor lasers that led to the commercial success of lasers. Herbert Kroemer explains to Nature Materials his contributions to the design principle of these lasers, for which he shared the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physics.