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Useful photonic materials must be engineered to high specifications. Microassembly is one solution to building the next generation of photonic crystal structures, as well as many other tiny devices for manipulating light.
Attendees at a recent Materials Research Society symposium on 'bio-inspired' nanomaterials were left to wonder: of biotechnology and nanotechology, which will have a greater impact on the other?
Fluids that respond to magnetic fields are predicted to display complex behaviour and morphologies. New experiments with colloidal dispersions provide direct evidence for self-assembled chains and networks in such systems.
When faced with the most cutting-edge problems in materials science, the 'right' research infrastructure can be as important as the quality of the scientific ideas. European researchers are being asked to consider a more inclusive way of doing science.