05: Nanotechnology

Apart from biotechnology nanotechnology is considered to be one of the key technologies of the 21st century. It will have far-reaching consequences on science, industrial development and the development of new products and will therefore be highly important for a successful economic development in the coming decades. Nanotechnology deals with the production, investigation and application of structures, molecular materials, inner surfaces with critical dimensions or product tolerances between a few to about one hundred nanometres. Most industrial branches become increasingly aware that being in control of the structural and functional properties of new materials on a nanometre scale will be the key to technological progress and new products for conquering new markets. A prerequisite for this is interdisciplinary knowledge of principles and methods of nanotechnology, which are based on the classical natural and technical sciences like solid state physics, biology and chemistry. For this reason nanotechnology is to be seen as a highly interdisciplinary science that requires us to cross the borders between the individual disciplines mentioned. This working group will discuss various aspects of nanotechnology together with representatives from science and industry.