Next to computer science and biotechnology, materials science and engineering is rightly considered to be one of the key technologies in the 21st century, and already has an extensive influence on everyday life.

Materials are the foundation for everything we do and are central to all areas of technology and economic activity. Crossing the scale from nanotechnologies to systems engineering, materials science affects most future and global challenges. Innovation in high-performance materials and in information, communication and energy technologies would not be possible without a wealth of novel functional materials.