Traditionally, advances in miniaturization have merely meant that things could be made smaller and smaller. The underlying properties and behaviors of the materials being acted upon, however, remained constant.

More recently, advances in nanotechnology have resulted in what is literally a quantum shift. Sizes have gotten so small that engineers are now working at the atomic and molecular levels. At these minute scales, physical properties change, materials react differently, and new forces and challenges come into play for scientists and engineers. These are exciting times indeed.

In addition to the paradigm shift in how things operate in the new nano environment, what has struck me most is how so many different fields share in this excitement. When I ask professors in various disciplines across the school which area they think will be aided most by new nanotechnology breakthroughs, invariably, they say their own.

Inside this Annual Report you will see profiles of four of our faculty, each working in a different field, on profoundly disparate materials, and with dissimilar methodologies. And, yet, the new concepts of nanotechnology are affecting the research of each of them and effecting tremendous solutions, which will have positive impacts for all of us.

As with other scientific breakthroughs, we do not know exactly what future advances in nanotechnology will look like, which is part of the adventure. We do know, though, that the advances will be far-reaching and will, literally, change the world. At Stanford Engineering, we are thrilled to be part of it.

Part of our historical nanotechnology success has been due to the tremendous opportunities for collaboration afforded by the existing nanofabrication and nanocharacterization laboratories in the Paul Allen Center for Integrated Systems and McCullough buildings, respectively. State of the art in its day, the Edward L. Ginzton building will soon be replaced by the next generation in nanolabs. The new building, part of the new Science and Engineering Quad, is scheduled to break ground in early 2008.

The Nano Center will contain flexible facilities that encourage even more collaboration — it will be a “sandbox” of sorts. There, student and faculty researchers from within the school, across the university, and from the broader community can experiment freely without the pressure of needing a predetermined outcome. I, for one, am convinced that this will result in even more incredible discoveries going forward.

I invite you to find out more about the future of nanotechnology at Stanford Engineering. I hope you enjoy the Annual Report and, as always, thank you for all you do for us.