Feynman’s engaging title for his 1959 lecture, “There’s plenty of room at the bottom” is as valid now as it was when he gave it. He presented a vision of a scientific world beyond a few billionths of a meter that was at that time far away of any technological feasibilities and applications. However, it opened the minds towards the creation of new scientific disciplines that are now called nanoscience and nanotechnology. The “nano” prefix not only refers to the extremely small but also stands for the integration of traditional physics, chemistry, biology and engineering disciplines to form an interdisciplinary science which has far-reaching consequences for science, the environment and society.

Scientific research is about gaining knowledge of a system, which technology can then use for developing practical applications. In the nanoscale dimension, there are unrivalled possibilities for the development of functional objects and techniques in areas ranging from nanoelectronics, nanoscale sensors and novel data storage devices to novel materials and coatings, cosmetics, fuel cells, catalysts, to pharmaceuticals and medical implants. The properties and phenomena that these objects exhibit occur precisely because they are extremely small, existing in an environment where the laws of physics operate in unfamiliar ways. Today, the full ramifications of many experimental achievements are not always apparent and how many of these will result in applications in the future is unclear – the potential is perhaps only limited by our own imagination.

One of the main challenges of nanoscience and technology over the next decades is to achieve precise positional control of material at the nanoscale allowing, for example, the fabrication and manipulation of single molecules. Top-down approaches, such as lithography or bottom-up, as in biological systems, combined with imaging and manipulation techniques such as STM and optical tweezers are providing scientists with insights into the behaviour and control of matter at the nanoscale.

In nature, we find complex, highly efficient and highly optimized systems such as biological cells which demonstrate how matter and energy can be controlled on the nanoscale. A higher degree of understanding of how biological systems are organized and function will not only increase our knowledge of living things but will find applications in other branches of nanoscience. This will not only enhance our ability to manufacture functional materials, but also holds promise to find solutions to more general problems in, for example, the areas of energy and health.

This symposium on Functional Nanoscience brought together experts in the field to present and discuss new results and approaches including the following aspects of nanoscience and nanotechnology, i. e., self-organization and self-assembly, molecular motors and transport, self-replicating biomimetic systems, quantum effects, molecular magnets, imaging and manipulation of molecules at the atomic scale / single molecule reactions.

Opening Remarks and Greetings
Martin G. Hicks, Beilstein-Institut, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Fashioning Functional Materials with Integrated Mechanostereochemical Systems
Fraser Stoddart, Northwestern University, Evanston, USA

Designing, Measuring and Controlling Molecular- and Supramolecular-scale Properties of Molecular Devices
Paul S. Weiss, University of California, Los Angeles, USA

Locomotion Physics and Collective Dynamics of Synthetic Nanomotors
Jonathan D. Posner, Arizona State University, Tempe, USA

Rotary Molecular Motion at the Nanoscale: Propellers, Motors, Wheels, Self-assembly
Petr Kràl, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA

A Single Molecule Nanoactuator: Towards a Device of Drug Discovery at the Limits of Sensitivity
Keith Firman, University of Portsmouth, UK

DNA: Not Merely the Secret of Life
Nadrian C. Seeman, New York University, USA

Self-assembly and Functionalization of Nanoscale DNA Boxes
Jørgen Kjems, Åarhus University, Denmark

Self-assembly of DNA into Nanoscale Three-dimensional Shapes
William M. Shih, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, USA

Structurally Persistent Micelles – Theory Leads Experiment
Timothy Clark, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany

Nanoanalytics Based on Nanomechanics: Applications in Life Sciences
Christoph Gerber, University of Basel, Switzerland

Minimal Systems of Cellular Self-organization
Petra Schwille, BIOTEC - Technical University, Dresden, Germany

Magnetite Nanoparticles in Fish and their Role in Bionavigation
Sylvia Speller, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Energy Transductions in ATP Synthase
Peter Dimroth, ETH Zürich, Switzerland

Problems of Energy Conversion in Biological Systems
Athel Cornish-Bowden, CNRS – Bioénergetique et Ingénierie des Proteins, Marseille, France

Carbohydrates-based Nanosciences
Peter H. Seeberger, Free University of Berlin, Germany

Hierarchically Sculptured, Artificial Lotus Leaf Structures with Superhydrophobic and Self-cleaning Properties
Kerstin Koch, Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, Kleve, Germany

The EBID Roadmap Towards Functional Nanostructures
Hans Mulders, FEI Electron Optics, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

Focused Particle Beam Induced Deposition – Principles and Applications
Michael Huth, University of Frankfurt, Germany

Atomic-scale Transistors – Perspectives of Quantum Electronics at Room Temperature
Thomas Schimmel, University of Karlsruhe/Karlsruhe Institute for Technology, Germany

Functional Nanoscience - Present and Future
Dave A. Winkler, Monash University, Clayton South, Australia