Nanotechnology is one of today’s most exciting and most promising fields of technology and research. Nanotechnology applications are already finding their way into products in all areas. Nanotechnology provides the basis for ever smaller storage devices with ever greater data storage capacities – for highly effective wastewater filters, for photovoltaic window panes, for materials that can be used for manufacturing ultra-light engines and body parts in the car industry, or for new diagnosis and therapy procedures which can be adapted more precisely to suit the individual patient and are thus more gentle and will reduce the costs of medical treatment in the long term. 

The promotion of nanotechnology is one of the priorities of the High-Tech Strategy for Germany. The “Nano Initiative – Action Plan 2010” establishes the first ever single, interdepartmental framework for action. Its aim is to convert research results in the field of nanotechnology into economic success and jobs, to overcome obstacles to innovation and to improve framework conditions. This includes providing targeted support for young researchers, assisting small and medium-sized companies and  conducting an extensive exchange with the public. 

The Nanotech Europe 2009 conference is an international meeting place for representatives of science and industry and investors in the broad field of nanotechnology. As the biggest European conference on nanotechnology, it provides a forum for exchanging new research results, cultivating existing contacts and developing new cooperation projects. I hope that the participants at this conference will enjoy lots of interesting discussions and that the insights which they gain will be as many-faceted as nanotechnology itself.